Wednesday
05
November 2025
3:30 - 5:00 PM IST
Location
Room 204, School of Arts and Sciences
Central Campus
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Constructing the Self: Expression, Influence, and the Painted Image
Arts and Sciences Research Seminar Series
Rajesh Naidu
Assistant Professor
Artist/ Visual Arts, Figurative Art, Painting
Speaker
The motif of self-portraiture has long served as one of the most profound forms of artistic self-expression. For a painter, the perpetual state of flux -- of thought, emotion, and identity -- is perhaps most honestly revealed in this genre. Drawing inspiration from significant artists and the self-portraits they created during some of the most intense periods of their lives, Professor Rajesh Naidu revisits his recent works to explore the continuous motion of thought and feeling that unfolds over time. He also examines how these artists have directly shaped his painterly approach. Through the act of self-portraiture, he seeks to demonstrate how a painting takes shape -- how paint becomes skin, and ultimately, a reflection of the self and the moment it inhabits.
Please note: the presentation includes artworks that contain artistic nudity.
Speaker
Rajesh Naidu
Professor Rajesh Naidu is an artist and educator whose practice centres on representational painting. Informed by his strong engagement with art history, his work seeks to achieve a balance between contextual depth and painterly expression. His artistic process draws inspiration from the observation of people, places, and everyday objects.
He has participated in numerous juried, group, and solo exhibitions. As a Visiting Faculty of Art at the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (Indiana, USA), he taught courses in Painting, Art History, and Art Appreciation, and also served as the Artist-in-Residence at the institution.
Professor Naidu earned a Master of Fine Arts in Studio Arts (Painting) from Indiana State University, where he held a Graduate Assistantship and taught Beginning and Intermediate Drawing courses. He began his academic journey with a Bachelor of Engineering in Civil Engineering from Savitribai Phule Pune University, after which he worked in the construction industry for a period of time.
