Displacements: an artistic display of global movement and diaspora

Displacements
Shoreline City Hall

From her native India, to New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, and now Washington, artist Shruti Ghatak traveled over 8,000 miles in a voyage that began with a degree in science and emerged over the years to a focused study of art and detailed observation. 

Ghatak has exhibited widely in the USA and India. Her solo exhibition at Shoreline City Hall Art Gallery (3rd floor; 17500 Midvale Ave N., Shoreline 98133) opens Friday November 9, 6:30pm – 8:30pm and will be on display until January 21, 2019. Regular gallery hours are 9:00 – 5:00 M-F. The artist will give a short talk during the opening.

Displacements records the dynamics of global movement and diaspora.

Shruti Ghatak, artist

Images of boxes, books, and clothes dominate along with communication devices like smartphones, tablets, and laptops. 

The 14- foot wide Displacement, a quadriptych in charcoal, is worth the trip alone.

Ghatak’s formal training and interest in the figure is also evident in a series of portraits that prioritize the gesture of the hand, the arc of the back, as well as the seriousness and bravery in the face.

In Displacements, we see the effort to reassemble a life from the objects and fragments that have come through customs.

Between sleep and wakefulness, swiping and clicking, between dream and reality, this fascinating artist offers viewers a glimpse into the artistic process, science-like experiment, and survival in a world full of constant change.

Ghatak received her MFA from New York Studio School, NYC and her MS in Organic Chemistry (specialized in Color Technology) from Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai. She has an interdisciplinary background and studied both science and art with the belief that crossing boundary sometimes open up new ways of seeing.