Nirmal Raja: PAUSE

March 23 - April 27, 2024

Please join us this Thursday, April 25th, 7:30-8:30 PM for an evening with Chicago-based musician and visual artist, Brendan McAlinden. McAlinden will play various percussion instruments and a gong to accompany Nirmal Raja’s exhibition, PAUSE. In these works, Raja reflects “ I asked myself this question- “If I were to create my own visual tools for meditation, what would they be? How can I utilize making to bring the mind, body, and act in synch?” As we ponder Raja’s reflection, McAlinden will provide an immersive sound experience.
Raja writes “PAUSE is a collection of some recent drawings inspired by the book #tantrasong by Franck André Jamme which contains minimalist drawings made by mystics in northwestern India as tools for meditation….”

Bring a rug or yoga mat!

Nirmal Raja is an interdisciplinary artist living and working in Milwaukee with an imminent move to Cambridge, MA. She had lived in India, South Korea, and Hong Kong before immigrating to the United States thirty-three years ago. She holds a BA in English Literature from St. Francis College in Hyderabad, India; a BFA from the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, and an MFA from the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. She has participated in solo and group shows in the Midwest, nationally, and internationally. She is the recipient of several awards including “Graduate of The Decade” from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. Raja received the Mary L. Nohl Fellowship for individual artists for the year 2020 and the Mildred L. Harpole Artists of the Year 2022 award from the Milwaukee Arts Board. Her work is part of several private and public collections including the Warehouse Art Museum, The John Michael Kohler Art Center, Northwestern Mutual Corporate Art Collection, and more. She collaborates with other artists and strongly believes in investing energy into her immediate community while also considering the global. She periodically curates exhibitions that bring people from different cultures and backgrounds together.
Raja is represented by Portrait Society Gallery in Milwaukee.