Naina Maithani

Naina Maithani interprets the sights and sounds of the world around her into radiant non-figurative art. She paints the places that have left an indelible mark on her – from Dehradun where she grew up to Vietnam and Doha, where she has lived. The mellow and intricate gradations and patterns of deep colours seen in her works, inspired as they are by her memories, reflections, impressions and images of these places – can be read as an enigmatic travelogue, her journey as both, an artist and a woman.

Although her entry into the art world was in Delhi, working with the Vadehra Art Gallery, it was not until she moved to the Vietnamese heritage town of Hoi An that she began her journey as an artist, and met Tran Viet Son who she characterizes as her ‘guru’. It is because of her mentor’s own abstract art – and his encouragement that she do what appeals to her – that Naina too found her niche in the genre she had always been interested in.

She believes that abstract art gives her the freedom to explore herself as an artist: “I dream in abstract. It is something that never bores me, because it is open to interpretation.”