Padmini Mehta

Born and brought up in the blessed city of Varanasi. Completed Art Appreciation and Intensive Training for Conservation of Historical Glass and Ceramic Objects at the National Museum, and a Diploma in Textile Design in New Delhi. A graduate in painting from the prestigious Krishnamurthy Foundation (affiliated to BHU), Varanasi. I began my career as a creative designer in textiles and garments across various design and export houses in Delhi, even as I continued working on my paintings.

Since 1997 I have had solo and group exhibitions in India and in Moscow and St. Petersburg (Russia), London (UK), Kathmandu (Nepal), Thimphu (Bhutan), Male (Maldives), Bangkok (Thailand) and Abu Dhabi (UAE). I have held art residencies at Mehrangarh Fort and Museum, Jodhpur, and at Art Hub Liwa, UAE, and attended art workshops and camps in New Delhi, Varanasi, Bhilwara and Kathmandu.

Awards and recognitions followed. The art committee of UNICEF in New York selected my work for their greeting cards, and the United Nations chose my work for a poster and souvenir for the International Day of Persons with Disabilities. I received silver and bronze medals for drawing at the all-India level. I have served as an art and craft judge in schools, as visiting faculty for professional institutes of fashion and interior design, and as an external examiner for a fashion institute and women's polytechnic in Delhi and Varanasi.

As an artist I find continuous inspiration in many things, which has given me a vocation and a mission for a lifetime. At present I work as a freelancer.