Shanthamani Muddaiah

Shanthamani Muddaiah is an independent visual artist based in Bangalore whose practice explores the intersection of material, memory, and meaning through a deeply personal and political lens. She completed her BFA in Painting from Chamarajendra Academy of Visual Arts, Mysore (1989), and her MFA in Painting from Maharaja Sayajirao University, Baroda (1991). In 2004, she studied papermaking in Glasgow under the Charles Wallace Scholarship and has since been the recipient of national research grants and international residencies, including Cité des Arts, Paris. Muddaiah’s practice is rooted in the symbolic and material potential of charcoal—an ancient medium that speaks to both life and its transformation into ash. For her, charcoal represents the fragility of natural and economic systems, challenging perceptions of permanence. Drawing on her training in painting and a deep engagement with three-dimensionality, she uses charcoal to build large-scale forms that explore the delicate balance of urban existence and the vulnerability of what we value most. Muddaiah’s practice emerges from a deeply personal and political space, shaped by lived experiences across belief, caste, language, economy, and gender. Through scale, form, and the raw tactility of materials like charcoal, she explores how the body can be both restricted and empowered. Her works are acts of unravelling of self, memory, and history, guided by the influence of women mentors and a visual language grounded in feminist inquiry. This ongoing engagement challenges patriarchal structures while affirming the presence of voice, intellect, and embodied wisdom.

She has exhibited at significant biennales, museums, and art exhibitions in India and internationally. Her recent exhibitions include ‘Intimate Distance’, curated by Alnoor Mitha, at with ARt Centrix Space, at Main Art gallery, Bikaner hOuse, New Delhi (2024); ‘Drawing Now Art Fair’ with Suzanne Tarasieve Gallery, Paris (2023); ‘Visible Invisible’, Museum of Art & Photography, Bangalore (2022); ‘APER – A Cross-Culture Voice’, KunstCentret Silkeborg Bad, Denmark, and Ahmedabad (2021), among others.  Her works are housed in several distinguished institutions and collections, including the Albertina Museum (Austria), Durham University Museum (UK), Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art (USA), Fidelity Art Collection, ASU Art Museum (USA), Queens Museum (USA), ESSL Museum (Austria), and others. She has participated in multiple editions of Art Basel Miami (2013, 2014, 2015) and has exhibited internationally at Indigo Blue Art Gallery (Singapore) and beyond. Her public monumental sculptures contribute to the cultural landscape of Bangalore, with her most recent work installed at the new terminal of Bangalore International Airport.

Muddaiah lives and works in Bangalore, India.