February Art Exhibit
The Library Art Gallery is hosting Prajakta Badri’s Madhubani Art: A Glimpse into an Indian Folk Art Form from January 27 through February 23. The artist reception for this exhibit will be held on Sunday, February 11 from 2-4 PM. All are welcome!
Artistic Statement & Biography
I loved drawing, sketching, and painting since I was a child. I grew up in a suburb of Mumbai in India in
an environment where the focus was academic education. So, learning art was a matter of heart for me
and not something which I even thought of pursuing as a career or livelihood. I was always interested in
science, especially Biology and Chemistry, which led me to do bachelor’s and Master’s in Pharmaceutical
Sciences. Eventually, I came to US for doing Ph.D. in Clinical Pharmacology at Virginia Commonwealth
University (Richmond, VA). For last 13 years, I have worked in several Biotech companies in drug
development as a clinical pharmacologist, mainly in space of rare diseases.
As I tried to balance my hectic work-life and family, art became a hobby and fostered mindfulness and
self-expression in me; I consider it as my “Zen” in the chaos of everyday life. Over the years, I especially
developed love for landscapes, and I have used different mediums like watercolor, acrylics, oils, pastels,
ink, and graphite. As we quarantined and stopped socializing in Covid times, I thought it offered me
more time and a chance to learn more, this time with Madhubani Art.
Madhubani painting is a traditional art form that originated almost 2500 years ago in the Mithila region
of Bihar, India. I love this art, especially its ability to tell stories, with colorful images. Traditionally, this
art was a social custom that allowed women in villages to sit and work together as they decorated their
homes offering a sense of community and belonging. Although this art is ancient and was used to mainly
depict mythological or traditional stories in mural style using natural colors, modern day artists can still
create contemporary artwork using any available medium while staying true to the guidelines of the
artform.
India is a very diverse country, and as an eternal student, my biggest dream is to learn as many folk and
tribal artforms of India. For now, I am concentrating on the Madhubani art form, and I would like to
share my Madhubani Art in the Lincoln Library Art Gallery. My art pieces depict traditional Indian
mythological stories (example; Lord Ram – Sita Wedding, Lord Krishna in a boat with Radha and Gopis),
Boston landmark (two ladies at the Longfellow Bridge) or even application of Madhubani art to depict
native american way of life (Sioux Victory Dance). I consider exhibiting my art at Lincoln Library not only
as a platform to share my art but also as a conduit between historical and contemporary cultures.
