Biography: Samanta Batra Mehta
Samanta Batra Mehta was born in New Delhi, India and lives in New York, USA.
Her work has been exhibited at various international venues including at the
Queens Museum of the Arts, the Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts and Aicon
Gallery in New York, the Hunterdon Museum and the Visual Arts Center in New
Jersey, the Taubman Museum of Art in Virgina, and Artopia, Milan, among others.
In 2010 she was invited by Galerie LMD, Paris to exhibit her work and make a 24
foot long site-specific mural at the Salon Du Dessin Contemporain, held at the
Carrousel du Louvre in Paris. Her work was included in the ‘Reading Room’, a
Partner Exhibition at the Kochi Biennale 2014 in Kochi, India. The exhibition
traveled to the Alliance Francaise Delhi and at Winchester School of Art,
United Kingdom in 2015.
Samanta’s work has been showcased by galleries at leading art fairs including
at Art Stage, Singapore (2010), India Art Fair, New Delhi (2011-2016), Bologna
Arte Fiere 2013, Art Basel Hong Kong in 2014 and 2015 and Art Dubai
(2016).
Her first solo, ’Cabinet of Curiosities’, with Shrine Empire, New Delhi in 2014
was nominated for the Forbes India Art Award in the ‘Best Debut Solo’ category.
It received critical acclaim in Art India Magazine, TAKE on Art Magazine and
Art Asia Pacific Magazine. Her second solo ‘The Journey of Secrets’, was at
Sakshi Art Gallery, Mumbai in 2015, and was featured in a solo interview with
Bloomberg TV, in the Aspire segment (August 2015). Her third solo project, ‘The
Crucible of Fantasy’ was with Shrine Empire Gallery, presented at Art Basel
Hong Kong 2015, in the “Discoveries” section. This exhibition received critical
acclaim in Asia’s leading art journal, ‘Art Asia Pacific’ (Volk, July-August
2015).
In 2015, Samanta was commissioned for a 40 piece art installation by the Jindal
Steel Mills in India. Her works are included in several collections including
in the collection of the prestigious Fondazione Fotografia Cassa di Risparmio
di Modena in Italy, the RPG Group, India, The Jindal Collection, India, the
Birla Art Foundation, India. In 2012 the Fondazione Fotographia showcased her
work in at their museum in Modena, Italy in a landmark exhibition curated by
Filippo Maggia, titled 'Tenth Parallel North: Contemporary Photography from
India and South America' (Decimo Parallelo Nord: Fotografia Contemporanea da
India e Sudamerica).
Her work has been profiled in several publications, including the New York
Times (Genoccio, 2008). Recent publications include, ‘Contemporary Photography
from India and South America’: The Tenth Parallel North' [Hardcover] by Filippo
Maggia, Claudia Fini, Francesca Lazzarini (Skira, 2012). In January 2016, Elle
Magazine India named Samanta as “one of the artists to catch” at the upcoming India
Art Fair along with stalwarts in the art field.
Samanta was awarded the prestigious Joan Mitchell Foundation's 2014-2015
Painters & Sculptors Grant Award for outstanding artistic achievement.
Exhibitions: In Search Of Lost Time