DVAA Member since 2021
Shwarga Bhattachajree
Artists Website:
About:
Shwarga Bhattacharjee is an artist from Bangladesh, currently based in North Philadelphia, PA. He has shown his work in the United States, Bangladesh, and Nepal. In 2012, He got selected as the Young Talent at the Dhaka Art Summit, and in 2021, he is the recipient of Peter Benoliel Fellow at Center For Emerging Visual Artists, and Michelle Angela Ortiz Fellow at Da Vinci Art Alliance in Philadelphia. He has participated in residencies at Britto Student Residency, Jentel Artist Residency, NYAE Curatorial Residency, and Chautauqua Institution School of Art. In 2021, he participated in the Spring Curatorial Residency program at the New York Artists Equity Association in New York City. He also worked as a children’s book illustrator with Room to Read. He received an MFA in drawing and painting from Tyler School of Art and Architecture, Temple University, and a BFA in drawing and painting from the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Dhaka.
Artist Statement:
My current work generates from the duality of experiences as an immigrant. On one side, I am going through a seemingly never-ending phase of adaptation to the new societal and political culture in the United States. On the other side, I am engaged in a continuous introspection into my origin, which has driven me to delve deeper into my South Asian heritage. My work is a search for my identity within the simultaneous experience of colonial and post-colonial cultures. I was born into it and struggled through it my entire life. I use layers as the physical expression of my thoughts. My approach and techniques have varied, but the search for identity has been a constant.
