Artists
Artists from Auroville

Aparajita Barai

Aparajita is a graphic designer and artist. After graduating from the National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad and completing her Master’s degree with distinction in Design for Communication from the University of Westminster, London, her path led her to Auroville. There she has found her purpose in focusing on exploring Indian mythology and spirituality through her artwork. Mostly inspired by the Madhubani folk style of painting, Aparajita seeks to delve beyond the ceremonial practices associated with Indian mythology and philosophy to reconnect people to the deeper spiritual messages held within. Using symbolism to communicate Indian spiritual concepts, Aparajita’s artwork speaks a deeper universal language that helps to connect us with these spiritual concepts.

Ongkie Tan

Ongkie is self-taught artist hailing from Borneo who is also passionate about hair styling. He has traveled the world for a decade, carrying his canvas tubes in his backpack. When his trip landed him in Auroville in 2010, he continued to combine both his passions not to make a living but to follow his innate curiosity. He found that in Auroville he could be himself, and he fills his days with a calm sense of belonging. When he paints, surrounded by wildlife, light, trees, and like-minded people, he draws his inspiration from animals, birds, and nature. More recently, Ongkie’s paintings are portraying family. 

Birgitta Volz

Having been the youngest member of the Association of Professional Artists in Nuremberg, Germany, Birgitta has explored numerous forms or art including painting, sculpture and applied art. Though curious about all forms of art, from a young age Birgitta focused on prints. Her signature wood and bark prints and her work on ‘the invisible’ have acclaimed her international recognition, been displayed in more than 100 solo exhibitions and 200 group exhibitions, across 20 different countries. In Auroville, her home since 2003, and the place to which her inner voice directed her and where she continues to work on prints alongside a career in jewellery design for an Auroville-based company ‘Matrigold’, which she started in 2006. 

Ireno Guerci

Living in Auroville since 1988, Ireno is widely known as an artist and one of the township’s favourite photographers. Born and raised in Italy, he discovered and was moved by Impressionism at the young age of fifteen. Although he chose to follow a technical education not related to art, Ireno grew into a self-taught photographer and painter who learned by studying other artists. His early work focused on abstract and minimalist compositions. As time went on, he explored other paradigms and forms of expression. The topic of chaos and order became a subject that would captivate him for decades to come; and is also reflected in some of his work in Auroville. Ireno is a multiple award-winning artist; his work has been globally exhibited and is part of numerous private collections around the world.

Henk Van Putten

Henk van Putten (1936-2019) was born in the Netherlands and called India home from 2001.

He worked with various materials like steel, stone, bronze and wood to form the building blocks of his sculptures and multi- dimensional objects.

He had a passion for spaciousness.. He looked for new and interesting ways to arrange the all-time basic geometrical forms. By manipulating these given elements in a certain way, surprising new shapes can be created.            

A prolific painter and sculptor, he participated in numerous exhibitions in Asia and art fairs across Europe such as the Art Basel-Cologne-Frankfurt. In 2014 his work ‘Stretching’ won the Liu Kaiqu Excellence Award, Wuhu, China.

Charles Zanon

Crystal​

Living in Auroville since 2018, Crystal has over the years developed her skills in pyrography that she uses together with pigments, creating a very unique result on wood. Crystal’s art is her way of going into the flow, looking for something that is uplifting and that can bring her in a higher state of consciousness.

Dominique Jacques​

Living in Auroville since 2015, Dominique is a creative mind and heart, using mix-media. She studied art and restoration in Paris and started working as a restorer of frescoes and paintings.