Art by Shailly
Shailly Gupta
Artist & ‘Artepreneur’ | Born July, 1978 | Observer at Fine Arts, Melawati Institute of Art, 2012 | Post Graduate MBA, IMI Delhi, 2000 | Commerce Graduate, JMC Delhi, 1998
About The Artist
Shailly Gupta’s move to Malaysia in 2007 was the beginning of her creative journey.
Having nursed an interest in art and a dormant creative sensibility for years, Shailly took the new adventure as an opportunity to start her own studio, where she began to paint. Motivated, she enrolled herself in various art courses. Eventually she joined the ‘Fine Arts’ programme at the Malaysian Institute of Art as an observer, to give herself a more formal education in the field and explore the possibilities that art could offer.
Finally settling into her preferred medium of acrylic, Shailly developed her own style and expression. Her works can be described as semi-abstract, each painting encapsulating a focused idea, whilst still allowing her audience to use their own imagination.
Colour plays a major role in Shailly’s work. She describes her current technique as being about the fluidity of colour and accidents that happen along the way. Her vibrant colours create movement, dynamic as you focus on individual sections but calm and serene when viewed as a whole.
Part of this commotion and energy is apparent in Shailly’s love for natural textures. She often uses mixed mediums to convey a more raw and earthy quality.
Shailly draws inspiration from her experiences while travelling. Embracing Indian and Malaysian culture has deeply enriched her colour palette, amongst her influences include Batik, Japanese wood-cuts and New Zealand’s stunningly vivid topography.
Her current series, ‘Namesake’ is based around oceans and coastlines.
Beside her paintings, Shailly has delved into the fashion industry, her studio ' Indian Ocean' houses her bespoke handmade clutches and evening bags of her own design.
Her own artwork and other creative influences - form the basis of each collection.
She uses fashion as a way to promote her paintings, but also to create a higher awareness and appreciation of art. Each bag is unique in design and personality. They are hand crafted, high quality and made for the bold, confident women. When you carry a bag, Shailly says, you carry its story with you.
Over the years, Shailly has developed her studio 'Indian Ocean' which translates into Ratnakar in Sanskrit, which also means, ‘Mines of Gems’.
Shailly has created a brand for herself that encapsulates both her artwork and her clutches- ‘Indian Ocean by Shailly’. Residing in India and Malaysia, Shailly considers herself an artist of the region and would like to promote its ‘Gems’. She has collectors from various parts of South East Asia including, Malaysia, India, Singapore and Phillipines.
Shailly believes her art reflects her take on life – “A lot of commotion when you are immersed in it, but as you step out beautiful patterns emerge.”