The Spaces Between

Ahalya Rajendran’s paintings exist in the delicate space between memory and moment, where time flickers and the familiar dissolves into the ephemeral. In this body of work, she captures fleeting instants, distilling them into quiet yet expansive compositions that echo her childhood, the rhythms of everyday life, and the intimate connection between nature and one’s self.

Working with watercolor, acrylic, and charcoal on handmade Wasli paper, Ahalya borrows from the tradition of miniature painting, using stippling techniques to build delicate yet intricate worlds. Her surfaces breathe with layered textures, deckled edges, and an organic irregularity, suggesting that each image extends beyond the frame. Recurring motifs – birds in motion, self-portraits, the moon and dreamlike landscapes, create a world both deeply personal and universal, one where nostalgia and lived experience intertwine.

Ahalya’s paintings from Kerala are filled with a sense of openness: vast skies, flowing water, and greenery. These works carry traces of days alive with freedom, familial love, and an innate sense of childlike wonder. In contrast, her paintings from Bombay, created during her residency at Chemould CoLab, are more densely populated, drawing from the energy of places such as Colaba Causeway and Sassoon Docks. Yet, even as she captures the bustling movement and intensity of the city, her perspective remains tethered to Kerala, where nature shaped her way of seeing. The contrast between these two worlds infuses her works with a quiet duality, where movement and stillness coexist. 

Her compositions live in the blurred boundary between past and present, reminding us that a moment, once experienced, is already slipping into memory. In “The Spaces Between”, she invites us to pause in the midst of chaos, to look at the unnoticed details of our own lives, and to step into her world, one where she is both the observer and the subject, weaving herself into the narratives she creates.

Through the interplay of presence and absence, Ahalya Rajendran’s works gently insist on the value of looking closely, of lingering in the spaces between: where time slows, and in a fraction of a second, a world is held.

Written by Parnika Singhee

Opening Reception
Thursday, March 13, 2025 | 6 – 9 PM

Address
Chemould CoLab, 2nd Floor, Sugra Manzil, BEST Marg, Colaba, Bombay 400 001

Gallery Hours
Tuesday – Saturday | 12:00 PM – 6:00 PM

Artist
Ahalya Rajendran

Exhibition Dates
March 13 – April 26, 2025

Website
https://www.gallerychemould.com/chemouldcolab/

Contact
admin@gallerychemould.com 
+9122-22000-211 / 212 / 213

About Artist

Ahalya Rajendran
b. 1997 , in Kerala, India

Ahalya Rajendran was born and brought up in a small village called Thenmala in Kollam district of Kerala. A land of natural beauty and geographical features played a major role in shaping the artist. Her artistic career began by drawing pictures of the animals and plants around her. 

She completed her MVA in painting at Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda and BFA in painting from the Govt. College of Fine Arts Thrissur, Kerala. Ahalya is a recipient of the Nasreen Mohamedi Scholarship Award, MSU Fine Arts, Baroda (2021). She was one of the participating artists in Art Mumbai 2023, Space Studio, Baroda; ‘Tales of Beloved Agonies’ (Group show), KLKA Calicut; IMAGINARIUM 3.0, Awards & Exhibition, Emami Art, 2023. Her Recent participations include Space Studio Alumni Show, Baroda, 2023; ‘Collective Impact- Diverse Perspectives’, Group Exhibition curated by Prayag Chakradhar, Exhibit 320, 2023; ‘Embark’, ARK foundation, Vadodara, ‘[Tender buttons and a] Bellyache’, curated by Shristi Sainan, APRE Art House, Mumbai, 2023; ‘Trail’, Group Exhibition, M.S.U Baroda, 2023; ‘Deconstructed Landscapes’, Latitude28, Triveni Kala Sangam, New Delhi, 2023; ‘Awakening’, NuGa Art House, London, 2023; Delhi Contemporary Art week, Latitude 28, Bikaner House,New Delhi, 2022; ‘All That is Life’ curated by Saloni Doshi, Space 118, Mumbai, 2021; ‘Lokame Tharavadu (The world is one family)’ curated by Bose Krishnamachari, Kochi Biennale Foundation, 2021; Space 118 × MSU, MFA Final Year Digital Display, 2021; ‘Turtles can tell more about the road than hares’ curated by O. Sunder, Darbar Hall, Ernakulam, Kerala, 2021; Kerala State Exhibition, Darbar Hall, Ernakulam, Kerala, 2021; Kochi Muziris Students Biennale 2018, 2021; Sakti Women’s Art Camp and Exhibition conducted by the Art India Company, Himachal Pradesh, 2020; ‘Encore’, Govt. College of Fine Arts, Thrissur, Kerala, 2019; and The International Kalamela Group Exhibition, New Delhi, 2018. 

She was invited to be part of Chemould CoLab’s summer/monsoon residency in 2024, thereafter will have her solo show at the gallery. 

The artist lives and works in Baroda. 

(Text and images courtesy of Chemould CoLab)