Shailesh Joshi
My work begins with emotion.
I have spent much of my life observing people—their expressions, gestures, movements, and quiet moments. I am interested not simply in reproducing what I see, but in finding the emotion that exists beneath the visible surface.
Working primarily in oil and watercolor, I use color, form, and expression to create an experience that is felt before it is explained. My years as an artist, educator, and designer have taught me to observe carefully, but I do not want observation to dictate a single interpretation.
I believe the relationship between artist and viewer is essential to the life of a painting. I may begin a work with my own emotions, but I do not believe its story belongs entirely to me. Each viewer arrives with different memories, experiences, and sensitivities. What one person discovers in a painting may be entirely different from what another sees.
That is where art becomes alive.
I admire artists such as Mark Rothko for demonstrating the extraordinary capacity of art to communicate emotion without requiring explanation. I similarly seek an emotional connection that extends beyond literal representation or predetermined narrative.
I do not want to tell the viewer what to feel.
I want the work to awaken something within them.
The art itself should become the story.