Sunday October 30 * 1pm * MASKS REQUIRED * RSVP

Join us for an artist talk by Kanchan Balsé discussing her exhibition Survival.

My paintings are intimate stories about relationships and boundaries at home and in communities and evoke questions about the transient and often ambiguous nature of relational, geographical and political lines.

I use personal iconography from my Indian and European ancestry to communicate ideas about identity, resilience, cultural preservation and mental health.

After beginning with transparent acrylic ink washes and drips, I build texture and detail with opaque acrylic paint, allowing my subconscious and impulse to guide the composition and imagery. I gradually exert more control, rearranging colors and shapes within emerging landscapes while experimenting with scale, plane, and heavy layering. I reveal moments from the past and bring them into the present by removing wet and dry paint and choosing what to highlight or cover with fresh color. My process mimics the perpetual editing of personal narratives as new experiences influence thoughts and memories.

After the birth of her first child, Kanchan Balsé began painting to channel intense postpartum feelings and to contest the unrealistic and harmful expectations society places on mothers. Blending figurative and abstract elements, she works intuitively to create images that challenge romanticized depictions of family life and society.

Kanchan is a multimedia artist, curriculum developer and educator working out of Red Dirt Studio in Mt. Rainier, MD. She holds a B.A. in Liberal Arts from The New School for Social Research and has shown her work in solo and group shows in the DC area including Studio Gallery, Dumbarton Concert Gallery, and doris-mae.