Based in
Gurugram, India
Mediums
Themes
Education
Selected Exhibitions
Acrylic on canvas, natural pigments, handmade paper, fabric, thread, mud, turmeric, sindoor, found objects, mixed media
Memory, identity, inherited belief and familial conditioning, self-acceptance, inner journey, emotional visibility
2024: Master of Fine Arts in Art Therapy, MIT School of Fine Arts, Pune;
2020: MA Psychology, IGNOU, Delhi;
2005: Diploma in Fine Arts, École des Beaux-Arts, Paris;
1995: Bachelor of Science, Meerut University
Collections/ Recognition
2026: Parallels of Perception, Shridharani Art Gallery, Triveni Kala Sangam, New Delhi
2023: APJ Abdul Kalam awardee
Mothadaka Foundation; Nagarro Gurugram;
Prithvi Art Foundation;
Private collections in London, Paris, Breda (Netherlands), Turkey and Dubai
Rhizoscape: The Living Network exhibition in London will be showcasing some of this artist’s work from 19th February to 4th March 2027
Shikha Gupta
Contemporary visual artist and art therapist exploring memory, identity and inherited belief through layered painting and mixed media.
Shikha Gupta's practice sits within a network of artists using material process to surface what identity conceals rather than what it displays. Working in acrylic, natural pigment, thread, mud, turmeric and found objects, she treats the canvas as a site of excavation, building and stripping back layers to reach the implicit memories, familial conditioning and silent narratives that shape a life beneath conscious awareness.
Her training as an art therapist informs a practice concerned less with representation than with disclosure. Paintings and scroll works such as "I Hear You" and "I Wont Pass It On" hold space for emotions that culture normalises into silence. This places her within a broader lineage of artists using inherited domestic materials, including turmeric, sindoor and thread, to interrogate what is passed down through generations and what a person chooses to release.
Rooted in Gurugram yet shaped by training in Paris and Pune, her work speaks to the quiet, ongoing negotiation between selfhood and inheritance that defines much contemporary identity-based practice today.
Shikha Gupta is a visual artist, art therapist and cultural practitioner based in Gurugram, Delhi NCR, India. Her practice explores self-knowledge, memory, inherited belief and the subtle processes through which identity evolves, working across acrylic on canvas, handmade paper, textile, thread, natural pigments and found objects. She trained in Fine Arts in India, completed a Diploma in Fine Arts at the École des Beaux-Arts, Paris, and holds a Master's in Art Therapy from MIT School of Fine Arts, Pune, alongside an MA in Psychology from IGNOU, Delhi.
Practice Themes
Excavation
Shikha treats the canvas as a site of excavation. She builds and strips back layers of acrylic, pigment and found materials to reach the implicit memories and silent narratives that sit beneath conscious awareness.
Inheritance
Turmeric, sindoor, thread and mud carry what is passed down through generations. Her work asks what a person inherits through family and culture, and what they choose to release.
Disclosure
Her training as an art therapist shapes a practice concerned less with representation than with disclosure. Works such as "I Hear You" and "I Wont Pass It On" hold space for emotions that culture normalises into silence.
Shikha Gupta describes her process as beginning intuitively, led by gesture and sensation, before a period of conscious excavation, removal and rebuilding of layers, mirroring the examination of inherited patterns and the making of room for new possibilities.
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2026: Parallels of Perception, Shridharani Art Gallery, Triveni Kala Sangam, New Delhi, India
2026: Bhaav (Compassion), Art of Living International Centre, Bangalore, India
2026: Being Heard and Seen 2, Panchvati, Bangalore, India
2025: White on White, Museo Camera, Gurugram, India (an initiative by Shobha Broota)
2023: International Exhibition, Mauritius (inaugurated by the President of Mauritius)
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Recognition: 2023: APJ Abdul Kalam awardee
Collections: Private and institutional collections in India, England, the Netherlands, France and the United Arab Emirates, including Mothadaka Foundation, the Deputy Commissioner of Chandigarh, Pantnagar University, Raahgiri Foundation, Nagarro Gurugram, JMD Megapolis, and private collections in London, Lancaster, Breda, Paris, Gurugram, Delhi and Dubai.
Recognition: APJ Abdul Kalam Award for Art & Culture, 2023.
The Works
Shika Gupta
Acrylic on Canvas
2024
152 x 152 cms; 59.8 x 59.8 in
Price: POA
Antar Pravah means an inner flow - the movement of our memories, emotions, experiences, and relationships within us. My paintings use layers, textures, marks, lines, and abstract forms to explore these unseen connections.
In this work, forms appear, overlap, disappear, and come back, much like memories that stay within us even when we are not aware of them. The small strokes and lines move outward, creating a feeling of energy and movement. At the same time, the painting remains balanced and calm. This reflects how our inner world is always moving and changing, while we continue to find our centre.
The lines connect different parts of the painting, creating a sense of continuity and movement between thoughts, feelings, memories, and experiences. For me, the work is a journey within, a quiet movement between what we carry inside and what slowly finds its way to the surface.
A flow that is not moving in one particular direction. It moves towards the left, then slants, turns, changes its course and creates its own patterns. There is no straight line or fixed path. For me, that free movement across the canvas speaks of the freedom we all seek within ourselves.
And yet, even in this freedom, there is a certain balance.
The circular form in the middle becomes a kind of grounding point...a place of focus. But it is not still. There is movement within it too, through the small marks and forms. It is more like finding a centre while continuing to move.
There are also marks underneath the surface, blurred patterns, scratches, fragments of earlier layers. They are partly hidden, but some traces still remain. They may not have much significance on their own today, but they were part of the process through which the work evolved. So I did not want to completely erase them. I wanted to acknowledge them in their own way.
The dark brown marks carry something of nature, memory and things that I have observed and carried with me. The small patch of rust, white with its presence feels like another beautiful journey within the larger journey, something that is probably the source of inspiration, joy, but is still present. The small light ochre square on the middle left with tiny marks brings a soft feeling, you usually feel in your spiritual journey, when you feel content. The painting has more such soft patterns at different places.
The circular form on top also reminds me of the sun and the moon. They have always been a kind of inspiration for me, especially at times when I have felt lost or unsure of myself.
Perhaps the work is simply about this, to keep moving, to find your own direction, and yet remain connected to something within.
Shika Gupta
Acrylic on Canvas
2024
122 x 91 cms; 48 x 35.8 in
Price: POA
Explores the flow of thoughts,emotions, memories, and experiences that shape our inner world.
The circles,layers, lines,and geometric forms represent different parts of the self,each connected in visible and invisible ways.The small pink dots suggest moments of awareness,hope, emotional energy that emerge during this inner journey. Our inner world is always changing, with every experience influencing the next. This work invites viewers to pause,reflect, and reconnect with their own innerflow.
The Inner Flow 2 is about being in the moment, finding clarity and allowing things to flow naturally. The different squares, rectangles and circular forms represent different aspects of our lives. They overlap and mingle with each other, yet each has its own significance. While we are living one part of our life, it deserves our complete presence.
The circular form, though more defined, has a gentle opening. It represents the freedom to let go, receive energy from nature and the universe, and allow clarity to emerge. There are fewer marks and elements, giving more space to each form, but the scratches and layers in the background still hold traces of memories and experiences.
The contrasts bring out the clarity and different dimensions of life, while the pink dots add a sense of hope, love, care and spirituality. They also remind us to pause, be aware and truly experience the moment we are in.
For me, this work is about allowing life to flow without restricting it, finding clarity amidst its many layers, and being fully present in whatever moment we find ourselves.