Episode 135

Photo credit: Kendra Custer

Ep. 135 features Suchitra Mattai (b.1973 Georgetown, Guyana), a multi-disciplinary artist of Indo-Caribbean descent. Her work explores how collective and individual memory and the space of myth and folklore allow us to unravel and re-imagine colonial histories and narratives. Using both her own family’s history and her research of colonial indentured labor during the 19th century, Mattai seeks to expand our sense of “history.” Suchitra received an MFA in painting and drawing and an MA in South Asian art from the University of Pennsylvania. Recent and upcoming projects include a commission for the Sharjah Biennial 14, solo exhibitions at the ICA San Francisco and Kavi Gupta Gallery (Chicago) and group exhibitions at the MCA Chicago, Crystal Bridges Museum, the Art Gallery of Ontario, the San Antonio Museum of Art, the Sarasota Museum of Art and the John Michael Kohler Arts Center. Her works are represented in collections which include Crystal Bridges Museum of Art, the Denver Art Museum, and the Tampa Museum of Art. Suchitra is represented by Kavi Gupta Gallery.

Maximiliano Duron, The Best Booths at Art Basel Miami Beach 2022

(Arghavan Khosravi and Suchitra Mattai at Kavi Gupta), From
Dazzling Abstractions to Urgent Protest Art
HTTPS://WWW.ARTNEWS.COM/LIST/ART-NEWS/MARKET/ART-BASEL-MIAMI-BEACH-2022-
BEST-BOOTHS-1234648390/
Emann Odofu, Suchitra Mattai’s Guyana exists in the gaps of the
western archive, Document Journal, March 08, 2022,
https://www.documentjournal.com/2022/03/suchitra-mattais-
guyana-exists-in-the-gaps-of-the-western-archive/
Aron Mok, Suchitra Mattai Probes the Monstrous Misperceptions
Around Immigrant Identity, Hyperallergic, March 8, 2022,
https://hyperallergic.com/715678/suchitra-mattai-probes-the-
monstrous-misperceptions-around-immigrant-identity/
Salomé Gómez-Upegui, Artsy, Suchitra Mattai’s Soulful Works
Convey Unspeakable Truths, February 4, 2022
https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-suchitra-mattais-
soulful-works-convey-unspeakable-truths
Sammi Lee, Plinth UK, Monstering with Suchitra Mattai, January, 2,
2022 https://plinth.uk.com/blogs/in-the-studio-with/monster-
suchitra-mattai-unit-london
Sadaf Padder, A Tale of Two Countries: Finding Indo-Caribbean
Shakti in Colorado, Hyperallergic, January 23, 2022
https://hyperallergic.com/705864/a-tale-of-two-countries-finding-
indo-caribbean-shakti-in-colorado/
ArtNet News, Looking for the Next Big Thing? Here Are 6 Exciting
Artists to Watch From Miami Art Week 2021, December 7, 2021
https://news.artnet.com/market/looking-for-the-next-big-thing-
here-are-6-artists-to-watch-from-miami-art-week-2021-2043675
Alison S. Cohn, Harpers Bazar, Art Returns to Miami After a Two-
Year Hiatus, Dec. 2, 2021
https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/art-books-
music/a38402593/art-returns-to-miami-december-2021-january-
2022/
Salome Gomez-Upegui, Artsy , Nov. 30, 2021
https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-10-best-booths-
untitled-art-miami-beach-2021
Stewart Lee, “Touched by the Hand of Ithell-My fascination with a
forgotten surrealist, The Guardian, October 11, 2021
https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2021/oct/11/touched-ithell-
colquhoun-forgotten-surrealist-stewart-lee

An Ocean’s Cradle, 2022
vintage saris, fabric, and ghungroo bells, 10’x 15′
photo by Wes Magyar / currently on view at the MCA Chicago in Forecast Form