10 Questions with Savya Jain
Savya Jain is a New Delhi-based artist from India. She first dabbled with paint when she was a year old, which intrigued her and sparked her increasing passion for art. With a bachelor's in interior architecture and design, she obtained her degree and participated in a number of seminars and short courses all around the world to hone her artistic abilities. She realised that she really wanted to pursue a profession in the art after taking over the design division of a corporation.
She developed her dynamic artistic style during the course of her practice, which is significantly visible in her works. Savya draws inspiration from her travels and the natural world, which enables her to capture her current emotions in relation to the scenic views and situations on a canvas using a symbolic colour scheme. She draws inspiration from her experiences and concentrates on recollection as well as the hues, fragrances, climate, and feelings that become the focal point of her painting. She takes pleasure in discovering and praising nature and its works of art while accentuating sentimental details and everyday pleasures that uplift her audience. Savya strives to inspire a spectrum of emotions through her ingeniously abstract presentation, awakened by intelligent hues that perfectly capture passions. These feelings include optimism, hope, a sense of belonging, and excitement. Her artwork is a physical representation of fantasies and a wild imagination of natural elements, memories, or universes that captures the interest of those seeking tranquillity.
By using mixed media, she has been able to present her ideas in a visually pleasing and beguiling manner.
Savya Jain - Portrait
ARTIST STATEMENT
When Savya was one year old, she dipped her hand in a box of bright paint that excited her. As she painted her mother's room, she enjoyed the process of creating the art she created, and her parents encouraged her to continue doing so. When she reached a breaking point in her life, she realised that she wasn't doing justice to what she knew. Over three years ago, Savya realized that she wanted to paint, and she has been painting ever since.
Savya's surroundings and travel serve as an inspiration for her work, but she has come to the conclusion that it may be much more than that because her work is so present-focused. When she is feeling content, the colours and strokes will reflect that. She aspires to try to get something that is intangible to her ground and tries to tie it up with her reality. It's what she sees and what she feels that is reflected on her canvas. So what she may see is her environment, but what she may feel at that same instant is possibly a sense of infinity or triviality, which she connects to her journey.
Munnar, acryclic on canvas, 45.7 x 60.96 cm, 2021 © Savya Jain
INTERVIEW
You started getting interested in art at a very young age. How did you turn it into a career? And what keeps you motivated?
I was a year old when I dipped my hand in a box of paint and went to my mother's room and painted all the walls or sketched on them. Luckily, my parents never got upset with that and instead encouraged me.
I studied interior architecture at Pearl Academy. I had no intention of pursuing art professionally at the time. I've always imagined that I would someday work in that industry because I enjoy architecture. I discovered my affinity for art during my internship with a company. After finishing my internship, I joined my father's company as a design head. Although I continued to paint simultaneously, I still felt unfinished, and when I reached my breaking point, I quit my job and pursued art full-time.
I didn't want to be caught up in the nine-to-five job. Honestly, that was my first motivation. I feel when I am in front of the canvas; I'm my own master. Nobody can tell me what to do. So the factors that really inspired me to paint and become an artist are the freedom of speech, the freedom of emotion, and the freedom of just flying away. No one would probably be listening to me had I not started painting. It just made me feel powerful, empowered, and free.
What, for you, is the most enjoyable part of making art?
The most enjoyable part about making art to me is that I love to experiment. I would work in a certain way and then think to myself, 'If I do this, how would this be?' Initially, that really scared me. I was scared of wasting paint and canvases. But I think it's a journey every artist has to take and go through to even realize their working style.
Also, I love the way my hand feels when I paint. I love the way the color feels when I do it. I strongly felt that this was my calling and that this was what I wanted to take forward.
Irrelevant to the fact that my experiment might fail or work, I just kept doing whatever I thought I demonstrated, and I loved it. I love the way this particular brush stroke makes me feel, and I am ready to paint canvases as tall as 10ft, no matter how long it takes.
Desert Rain, acrylic on canvas, 91.4 x 60.9 cm, 2022 © Savya Jain
Can you tell us about the process of creating your work? What aspect of your work do you pay particular attention to?
My process is really simple. I come to my studio and turn on some music. My music list is very varied because it starts with modern Punjabi songs, and then switches to very old Hindi retro songs. Some days I play old English retro songs. There was a time I used only to paint while listening to Tamil songs. I do not know why. It was just the vibe of the song which got me going. So I first and foremost turn my speakers on and put on music that gets me to groove.
When it comes to a canvas, I like to store my canvas and work on it. I do not like to work on a flat canvas. So it's stretched on the wooden frame because I like the solidity and feel of it. After opening my canvas, I sit and look at it for ten minutes. I look at the paint I have, and then I start mixing them, which is a process of experimentation. I do not have anything on my mind at that moment. Whatever colour I feel is my colour of the minute, I use that, and the second minute, it's a process of layering.
I feel art is all about the layers and even the foundation. That is very important and my key focus. So I like to work on the wall by placing my canvas against it. When I want to feel closer to my canvas and go inside the detail, I put my canvas on the easel and start working on it.
What is the most challenging part of your work? And where do you find inspiration?
What I struggle with during my work is maintaining a journal. I have a lot of thoughts in my mind, and sometimes I'm not able to pen them down or sketch them out. I find it convenient when I'm directly working on my canvas, but sometimes I struggle with directions because I don't have them. Sometimes the direction of the painting leads me to a situation where I just don't know what to do. Maintaining a journal would help me solve the problem, but so far, this has been a challenge for me.
I also struggle with balancing my work with my social life. I love meeting amazing people and having a good time with them, and I try to manage that somehow but my work can get the best of me.
I would love to spend more time with my family and friends because that's where I find inspiration from. The conversations that take place are a driving force for art. I do not give them enough credit for the works they have inspired and I want to try and spend more time with them.
I also find inspiration through travelling to different states of India or different countries since they inspire certain feelings within me, which leads me to paint and express myself. During my travels, nature and the clouds have been my biggest sources of inspiration. If you notice my prominent technique in painting, it resembles the shape of clouds. There are so many things that inspire me, including colours I find in nature that inspire a unique colour palette for new works. Every little thing in my surroundings means a lot to me and motivates my work in a beautiful way.
State of mind, acrylic on canavas, 121.9 x 9104 cm, 2022 © Savya Jain
Ross Island, Acrylic on canvas, 45.7 x 30.48 cm, 2022 © Savya Jain
Tell us more about your abstract painting. What does it represent for you? Do you have any specific theme you want to focus on?
I feel my art is very in the moment. If I'm feeling very content, the colours and my strokes will reflect that, and it also definitely is inspired by my travels.
I ensure that at least within a month or two, I go somewhere on a shorter or longer journey. It doesn't really matter as long as I'm traveling. And I love the way the clouds are. I am obsessed with the sky at any point of the day and the clouds. I'm always trying to take something intangible, like the sky, which makes you feel limitless for my art. I mean, that's what the sky makes me feel, like it's somewhere I could be.
What I feel in that moment is probably the feeling of being infinite, or sometimes even the feeling of being small, and I tie that up with my travel. So that is what my art is to me. It's what I see and what I feel that is reflected on my canvas.
Traveling has been a central part of my life, and recently I traveled to Mussoorie, where I could just sit on the balcony and watch the beautiful sky. This inspired me so much that I started painting every day, and these works are a part of my ongoing series, 'Enchanting Travels'. So far, my themes have focused on the sky, nature, and my journey, so there is nothing specific I want to focus on. My art is all about the feelings I have at the moment, which drives me to paint, and I would like to go with the flow of what drives me.
Do you have a role model that you've drawn inspiration from when creating your art?
There was a time when I was so inspired by Ram Kumar's art. I loved it because my artwork is inspired by my travels. By travel, I mean to say the sky, nature, the trees, the way the trees are falling, the colour palette of that particular scene which I'm looking at, and his composition. The way he would merge a blue with a yellow, not making it too green, is something that really inspired my colour palette. There were one or two artworks I worked on which were inspired by his untitled series that I loved. I used his composition and color palette but painted it in my way. So he was an artist who really inspired me.
The Dream, acrylic on canvas, 91.4 x 60.96 cm, 2022 © Savya Jain
What are you working on now, and what are your plans for the future? Anything exciting you can tell us about?
My plan for the future is to reach a bigger audience for my art. I want people to connect with my art. I've had a lot of people who come to me who do not feel the same way I feel about my work which is great because they can own my work by giving a different point of view to it.
I'm also planning and hoping for an exhibition in New York, which has been a dream since I was young. I visited New York and all the galleries in Chelsea five or six years ago, and I wished to have my exhibition there someday, so I hope it works out for me in the future.
I'm also looking forward to brand collaborations because my art would look great on different merchandise. I'm also planning to hold workshops for kids because I have a niece and nephew who love to paint with me. I put out a huge canvas, some paints, brushes, and spatulas for them and never tell them what to do unless they ask for my help. So I'm planning some workshops for the kids in the future so that I can help them.
The exciting part about what I'm doing right now is that I'm opening my gallery so my audience can find all my works in one space. I also want to see how my work put together would look. When all your works are right in front of you, you understand your journey and your work, where you started and where you are at the moment, and how different and unique your journey has been. It also helps me see which works are prominent in terms of narrative from each series. It helps you see the story and the message they convey.
I'm really excited to see it all coming together and see how different sizes would work for a viewer. I'm looking forward to meeting different people and interacting with them, asking questions, and giving them a point of view that I feel is important.
Do you find that the shift to digital exhibitions and art fairs has helped you promote your work?
Yes, it definitely did because people want the ease of being in their own space and having the tools to explore what is happening worldwide. But at the same time, I would agree that it has made me lazy because whenever there are any exhibitions, I think I can watch them on Facebook or Instagram instead of traveling that far. But I have started going to the exhibitions because I realized how important it is to network. They may not recognize my name, but they will recognise my face, which is important.
I feel the digital shift in art has been great, but it has also worked adversely. I also feel that you can always promote your artwork online, but there is something you cannot promote the same way, and that is the experience of an artwork. For my work, I feel you need to come and see my work to experience it. Digital views do not do justice to my artwork because there are times when I take a picture of my work and post it on Instagram. It's a completely different feeling as compared to seeing it personally. While it has its pros, I think it also has its cons.
Bird on a branch, Acrylic and cloth on canvas, 152.4 x 91.4 cm, 2022 © Savya Jain
Dubai, acrylic on canvas, 91.4 x 60.9 cm, 2022 © Savya Jain
What do you wish to accomplish this year, both in terms of career goals and personal life?
The only aim to accomplish this year in terms of career and personal goals are successfully opening my gallery and managing it. I'm really determined to make it work. I also want to work with a lot of curators I have in my mind, and I want to get to know them and work with them. I want them to gain an understanding of my art and also guide me on the next steps.
In my personal life, I'd like to follow a routine. I know that each day is unique without it, but I understand the importance of setting a routine and getting work done. I'm also looking forward to starting working on a couple of series and artworks, and I'm not sure if I'm there yet because I need to open the doors of my mind and heart to people.
I also want to become stronger in the way I deal with situations around me. I am a sensitive person because I love my family and friends, and at times their pain becomes my pain, and I need to draw a line there. I would like to become mentally strong and also be mindful and grateful for the people around me.
I also want to start having a good career and personal life balance. I haven't been able to do it, and I am determined to work on that someday.
Finally, share something you would like the world to know about you?
I feel like I'm a very loud person in nature. I'm very enthusiastic when it comes to talking to people or going out. I like to do things in a very different way. I feel that who I am as a person has been reflected through my art on canvas. I tried to work with the colour black, for example, and if you see my artwork, there is not even a hint of black color. I do not know what it is that really makes me move away from that color.
However, I feel my canvas is my happy place, and I only want to fill it with colors that make me happy. That keeps changing. There was a time when I could only paint with the color blue. I do not know why that happened, but I painted ten canvases with the colour blue, and it is still going on. It's not that I completely stopped painting with other colours. I've tried to also incorporate other colors because now I feel like I'm in a very different space in my life. In terms of colors, in terms of strokes, in terms of composition, in terms of understanding how I can add value to my art that's who I am as an artist.
