Indrajeet ChandrachudHome

Art

Paintings and textile design

Painting and product design feed each other. Both start with structure and add colour last. Both are done when nothing is left to take away. My design training gives the paintings their graphic edge. Painting, in turn, keeps my eye sharp for the products I design.

For sales, please contact:
Arundel Contemporary. 2 Maltravers Street, Arundel, West Sussex BN18 9AP, UK. (+44) 07508 467701

Architectural

Visitors at an exhibition, walking past three of the paintings

Deconstructivism

Visitors talking in front of the paintings at an exhibition

Structured abstracts

Three visitors looking at two of the paintings at an exhibition

Freehand

A gallery with three of the architectural paintings on its walls, and sculptures on plinths

Collage

Textile design

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About the artist

Indrajeet Chandrachud is a New York City–based artist and designer whose life and practice have been devoted to the visual arts for more than two decades. Working across painting, creative direction, surface pattern, and game design, he brings a disciplined eye for composition and a deep sensitivity to color, rhythm, and atmosphere.

His paintings are rooted in architecture encountered through travel across the United States, Latin America, Europe, and India. They are not documents of buildings so much as distillations of place, shaped by memory and feeling. Chandrachud’s minimal approach is guided by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s well-known insight: “Perfection is achieved not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.”

Through a pared-back, cubist language of architectural landscapes, he constructs surreal spaces that feel both precise and impossible. Influenced by Eastern philosophies and cultural lineage, his work seeks emotional resonance through form and color rather than literal likeness. Quiet, orderly, and meditative in their final presence, the paintings invite viewers to step inside, to wander, and to be held by the stillness. Chandrachud has exhibited in both group and solo shows on both sides of the Atlantic.

Indrajeet in his own words

Major themes & subjects

Architecture is my central subject. Even when I introduce the human figure, it is in relationship to the structures around it. We remember places through the people we meet and the events we live, but I return, again and again, to the architecture itself. I am interested in humanizing what is cold and concrete, and drawing out feeling through color, proportion, and light.

How it all started

I never set out to paint. Painting found me. While cleaning my home, I discovered a box of expensive paints and could not bring myself to throw them away. I used them, liked what happened, and simply kept going. Twenty years later, I am still at it. I work primarily in acrylic because the fast drying time suits the way I build a painting, but I continue to experiment with new materials, including collage.

Style and practice over the years

I am classically trained as a graphic designer, and my paintings carry a strong graphic sensibility. There is truth in the idea that we rarely stray far from our roots. Painting is often described as self-expression, and at times it becomes autobiographical, even when the subject is architectural. I began painting because it made me happy. I did not think of myself as an artist at first. Over time, my work moved from simplified architectural forms toward deconstruction, abstraction, and cubism. Architecture lends itself naturally to that language, and I am curious to see where the work will evolve next.

The process

Every painting begins as a doodle. Those doodles become sketches, and the sketches become spaces. Once a structure feels right, I begin imagining the color. Color is the most important element in my work. I do not mix much on the palette. Instead, I build color through layers, letting edges and underpainting show through, so the surface holds a slightly distressed, lived-in quality. A painting typically takes two to three weeks to complete.

Best advice I’ve ever received

Paint for yourself. Paint what you like. Paint as if no one will ever see it. Do not worry about what anyone will think, or whether it will ever sell. Only then can you truly paint your heart out.

Paint with music, or silence?

Silence. My paintings are often imagined places, or real places warped by memory, so I prefer a meditative quiet. As I paint, I try to inhabit the world on the canvas. I imagine who might walk down the street, where the light would fall, and whether two lovers might meet at the corner.

Exhibitions

  • 2019
    • Embracing ColourSolo show · Arundel Contemporary, Arundel, West Sussex, UK
  • 2018
    • CreatureCurated group show · The Gallery @ The Factory, New York City, USA
    • Five Napkin ShowCurated group show · The Gallery @ The Factory, New York City, USA
    • Escape VelocityCurated group show · Plaxall Gallery, New York City, USA
  • 2017
    • Winter SculpturesCurated group show · Plaxall Gallery, New York City, USA
    • Live, Work, PlayCurated group show · The Gallery @ The Factory, New York City, USA
    • Annual Fall SalonCurated group show · Plaxall Gallery, New York City, USA
    • FearCurated group show · Plaxall Gallery, New York City, USA
    • Making ConnectionsJuried group show · Citi De Ford Gallery, New York City, USA
    • The Garden of Earthly DelightsCurated group show · Plaxall Gallery, New York City, USA
    • Beach ElementsCurated group show · Plaxall Gallery, New York City, USA
    • Space CCurated group show · LIC Arts Open Festival, New York City, USA
    • Walk With LightCurated group show · Plaxall Gallery, New York City, USA
    • 8 LovesCurated group show · Plaxall Gallery, New York City, USA
    • Works on PaperCurated group show · Arundel Contemporary, West Sussex, UK
  • 2014
    • Movin’ OnSolo show · Arundel Contemporary, Arundel, West Sussex, UK
  • 2013
    • Summertime MedleyCurated group show · Arundel Contemporary, West Sussex, UK
    • Places I RememberSolo show · Arundel Contemporary, Arundel, West Sussex, UK
  • 2012
    • Long Island City Arts OpenNew York City, USA
    • Long Island City Artist ShowcaseGroup show · Eleven 11, New York City, USA
    • Architectural Colour, Modern SpacesGroup show · New York City, USA
    • DreamscapesSolo show · Colorida Art Gallery, Lisbon, Portugal
    • TOAST Art WalkTriBeca Open Artist Studio Tour, New York City, USA
    • Project 10x10Juried group show · New York City, USA
    • Vive le Surrealisme!Group show · Arundel Contemporary, UK
    • Urban DreamscapeSolo show · The Secret Theatre Gallery, New York City, USA
  • 2011
    • Art Paris 2011Group show through the Saatchi Gallery · Paris Expo, Paris, France
    • Richeson 75 LandscapeFinalist, juried group show · Kimberly, Wisconsin, USA
  • 2010
    • Nourish GalleryNew York City, USA
  • 2009
    • Pink & Black Tie GalaAmerican Cancer Society, New York City, USA
    • Eat Drink and Be Hopeful GalaAmerican Cancer Society, New York City, USA

Education

  • MFA, Advertising DesignSyracuse University, Syracuse, New York
  • BFA, Advertising DesignDirectorate of Art, Mumbai, India
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