Chitra Merchant, Rising I

Chitra Merchant is a Bristol-based artist and printmaker. Chitra was born in India and completed her BA in Psychology in Bangalore before departing for a year working at an artist’s studio in West Africa.

Chitra came to the UK in the 1990s, completing another degree in Illustration at the University of West England and discovering her love of printmaking. Following group exhibitions, in 2001 she based herself at Spike Print Studio in Bristol and she continues to print, teach, exhibit and work to commission at Spike.

Chitra’s work frequently draws upon her Indian upbringing. This is reflected in her use of colour as metaphor, as a feeling for a particular colour often forms the starting point of her work. Her landscapes use ancient Indian historical sites as a starting point from which to root and develop imaginary structures that take on a life and logic of their own.