Draft:Chitra Ramanathan

Chitra Ramanathan or Chitra, is an Indian American contemporary visual artist. A recent recipient of the International Tagore Award for “Outstanding contribution in the field of Fine Arts”, and art educator living in the United States, she is known for her predominantly abstract mixed media paintings  Her body of work visually portrays happiness. Many of the fine artist’s original works, mainly in the acrylic paint mediums have been created in expansive scales as public art and panel paintings created as diptychs or triptychs.

Ramanathan's biography and portfolio of her original paintings are represented by the Opulent Art Gallery, U.K hosted on Artsy., The ongoing thematic body of work is collectively and individually distinguished by fresh colors, and collage often infused with intricately interwoven textures that glow to express the concept of happiness and expression of joy.

Early life
Chitra Ramanathan was born as Chitra Subramanyam (given name, Parvati) in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, South India, to Sarasa and L.N.Subramanyam. She started doodling, painting, and crafting with clay at a young age. By the age of twelve, she had won a number of coloring-in awards from corporate sponsors including Hindustan Unilever Limited. Her paintings had also been presented at the Birla Academy of Arts and Culture in Kolkata, India.

Education and artistic career
After completing high school at Good Shepherd Convent, Chitra Ramanathan received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Madras, at Stella Maris College in Chennai, India. She graduated with honors from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign School of Art and Design earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Painting in 1993 and a Master of Business Administration at the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1997. She completed artist residencies at the Camac Centre d’Art in Marnay-sur-Seine, France, in 2010, and the Scuola Internazionale di Grafica, Venice, Italy, in 2012.

Ramanathan's career debuted in 1995 through art galleries situated on Soho Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, with solo and group art exhibitions of her paintings. Her work has been exhibited across the United States in galleries and academic institutions including the Florida International University, ARC Gallery, Butler University, Indianapolis Art Center, Vero Beach Museum of Art, Indianapolis Artsgarden, University of Illinois Foundation, and College of Medicine, Illinois. Manhattan Arts, New York, described her paintings as "tactile works that resonate with a quiet harmony" and "reflects the spirituality of her culture". The artist's academically influenced working process, including large-scale installations and commissioned originals evolves continually with each developing piece. While an artist member of the College Art Association, she served in CAA’s Services to Artists Committee from 2003 to 2006, and the Committee for Diversity Practices from 2007 to 2010.

In October 2004, a pair of large-sized paintings created by Chitra Ramanathan commissioned by MGM Mirage, now MGM Resorts International were installed in the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas. Among her other public-art projects was a 13.8 ft mural painting commissioned by Crooked Creek Elementary School, Indianapolis, Indiana completed in 2008, and large-scale paintings created in varied dimensions displayed in Monument Circle, Indianapolis in 2006 a public art initiative by the Arts Council of Indianapolis titled "Picture Windows 2006: Urban Interpretations". In 2005, she was invited to the Royal Academy of Arts, London, where she gave a visual presentation of her series of abstract paintings and conducted student tutorials at the Royal Academy Schools during the academic visit.

Interview:

“From Realism to Abstraction - Unveiling an Abstract Journey of Colors and Textures”, September 1, 2023: Exclusive interview with Chitra Ramanathan in an Art in Orbit Podcast hosted by Sofi Ortegano for Artists Up Close dot com/Magazine

Selected Book/Journal publications:

Books:
 * International Dictionary of Artists – Artists' Reference Book, First Edition, 2011. Museum quality. Language: English. Full Color. Size: 10" x 13" inches or 25 x 33 cm.Hard cover. Curator: Despina Tunberg. Publisher: World Wide Art Books
 * Lemonidou, Eve; Antoniadou, Olga (2010). International contemporary artists. New York, N.Y.: ICA Publishing. ISBN 978-960-93-2298-0
 * Biography, Marquis Publications Who's Who in America 2008, 62nd Edition
 * "The Artists Bluebook 2004", Directory of American Artists from the 16th Century to August 2004"- by Lonnie Pierson Dunbier, editor,www.askART.com "Books on this artist".
 * Publication: "Abstracts", a publication of the College Art Association "World Art: A Panhuman Narrative for Egalitarian Teaching" Co Chair, Art History Session: Presentation: "World Art: A Panhuman Narrative for Egalitarian Teaching" by Barbara Nesin and Chitra Ramanathan, Committee on Diversity Practices- College Art Association (http://www.collegeart.org/) 96th Annual Conference, Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, USA 2008.