By Kelly Giuliano
Staff Writer
The Monmouth Museum will showcase the work of Vidhi Mehrotra, whose abstract paintings have been chosen to represent the New Jersey Emerging Artist Series for the month of May.
Mehrotra’s “Sound to Silence” exhibition will be on display at The Monmouth Museum, located in Lincroft on the Brookdale Community College Campus, from May 4 to June 3.
The New Jersey Emerging Arts Series consists of six annual solo exhibitions that highlight the work of New Jersey artists. The artists chosen to participate in the series represent the diversity of talent that is seen throughout the state, according to the museum.
Mehrotra’s upcoming exhibit will feature a vibrant collection of acrylic paintings that represent visual interpretations of the Sufi and Hindustani music Mehrotra listened to as a child in India. Mehrotra’s use of vivid color schemes and frantic brush strokes carefully craft the essence of noise, which is echoed within the silence of her work.
“Like a visual conductor of music, I paint what I hear,” said Mehrotra, who is based out of Weehawken. “The choice of music and colors are all subconsciously driven by the rich Indian culture that is ingrained in me. I am grateful to have been born in a family and within a country that had instilled in me an appreciation towards music, art and spirituality.”
The inspiration behind the abstract series spotlights Mehrotra’s quiet journey with introspection – whose passion to create flourished within the midst of examining the beauty that was accompanied by the silence she found in music.
“My first piece in this series was a diptych called ‘Journey’s Within.’ Before this series, I was struggling to find my true voice. One day, I plugged into music and let go. I went with the flow of the music,” Mehrotra said.
“I loved the dance that took place on the canvas. That moment of epiphany. It was music that helped me silence the mind. I started experimenting with diverse kinds of music and the paintings all came out different. Most of the paintings in this series have been painted in tune with instrumental Indian Classical Music. A few of the works are based on Sufi and Trance music. I immerse myself in the music and try to capture its essence and frequency. The little notes, rhythms and silence are shown within the piece,” she continued.
As a child, Mehrotra said she would become “engrossed” while creating abstract paintings. In 2011, Mehrotra moved to the United States, where she would go on to pursue a degree in visual art.
“At first, the typical fears and the ‘what-ifs’ sent me into a different direction. I did my undergraduate in information technology and secured a well-paying job after my MBA. After working for a few years, I realized that this was not where my heart was. Eventually, I enrolled in my first art class [10 years ago] in India, which was taught by a professional artist. The art class rekindled my passion,” Mehrotra said.
“Within two years, the whispers to follow my heart became a roar,” she said.
After quitting her corporate job, Mehrotra made the decision to leave her home in India to begin fresh in New York City – where the artist would trade in her childhood fantasies for the American dream.
Mehrotra went on to attend both the School of Visual Arts and the The Art Students League of New York. Both institutions were said to have significantly helped Mehrotra’s growth as an artist.
“The decision was not easy, but there was no other way than art. It took a bit of convincing from both myself and my ex-husband to undertake this new journey towards the unknown. Fortune favors the bold. We got an opportunity to move to New York and it perfectly aligned with my dreams,” she said.
During Mehrotra’s visual exhibit, the artist will sponsor a gallery talk at The Monmouth Museum on May 16 from 7 to 8 p.m., where she will discuss her collection with the public.
“Vidhi Mehrotra is a musical conductor of paint. The viewers of her ‘Sound to Silence’ solo exhibition will first be drawn in by the color, mood and energy, which are the driving forces behind the notes of her artistic vision,” said Catherine Clarke, arts and fund development coordinator for the Monmouth Museum.
“As they settle in on the intricate strokes of her weave-like painting technique, it will be fully evident her work is grounded in her culturally rich childhood in India, while soon discovering a deliberate tapestry of paint in each work. We are excited to see Vidhi soaring to new heights in the arts-rich community of New Jersey and we are honored to have her work in this year’s New Jersey Emerging Artists Series at the Monmouth Museum,” she said.
