5:30 P.M. Reception | 6:15 P.M. Program. Rina Banerjee lives and works in New York City. She was born in Kolkata, India, and lived briefly in Manchester and London before moving to Queens, New York. Although Banerjee has resided in the United States for 50 years, she still draws on the perception that she is foreign and “other.” Inspired by her multinational background and personal history as an immigrant, Banerjee’s work focuses on ethnicity, race, migration and American diasporic histories. The artist’s sculptures feature a wide range of globally sourced materials, textiles, colonial/historical, and domestic objects while her drawings are inspired by Indian miniatures, Chinese silk paintings, and Aztec drawings. In 2018, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and the San José Museum of Art co-organized the artist’s first solo retrospective, Rina Banerjee: Make Me a Summary of the World, featuring 60 sculptures, paintings, and videos. Her works are included in many private and public collections such as the Foundation Louis Vuitton, Whitney Museum of American Art, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and the Centre Pompidou. Banerjee asks “can we imagine ourselves connected to the world around us, with us, and in us, and in a diverse American culture. How does art generate awareness for an open dialogue with identity cultures?” She will share her experiences exhibiting internationally, spanning 14 biennials worldwide, including the 57th Venice Biennial, XIII International Cairo Biennial, Yokohama Triennale, and Kochi Biennial. Click here to learn more about Salon Circle.
