Sovan Kumar

Cool trucks by Bubaneshwar based artist Sovan Kumar. He has a Masters in Plastic Art from Benaras Hindu University , Varanasi and trained in the Central Academy of Arts and Design , Beijing.

Abir Karmakar

I'm fascinated by Abir Karmakar's latest series of paintings titled From my Photo Album . Baroda based Karmakar is known for the blasé self portraits of him laying around his room in the buff , sometimes a provocative and obvious rendition of his sexuality . In his latest series he continues to make an appearance in all of his paintings in representations of everyday lives and states of mind. I like the slight hyperbole in his portrayal of 'regular' life. Images from here.

Vandana Jain

"I have been primarily working with well-known corporate logos, sometimes also incorporating slogans, wrappers and packaging. I often place these elements into quasi-religious contexts, arranging logos into mandalas or creating ritualistic spaces based on ad campaigns. I am interested in examining the deep influence of corporate and consumer culture on modern life, through a contrast of hand and machine; individual and conglomerate.", says New York based artist Vandana Jain.

Kangan Arora

Kangan Arora thinks of herself as an eccentric but it’s really more of an endearing quirkiness that comes through . She is the proverbial small town girl from Ludhiana but her work clearly reflects an urbane illustrative style that draws constantly from cityscapes and faces around her. She is currently pursuing Textile Design at the prestigious Central Saint Martins college of Art and Design, London & adores Auroville, Murakami & Wong Kar Wai flicks.

MC: Tell us a little about your background , education and such.

KA: I come from a family that has it’s roots in the business of Silk sarees , Bridal trousseaus, etc. I Went to the National Institute of Fashion Technology to study Fashion Design. This was in Gandhinagar. Now, Gujarat being Gujarat (what with Kutch, Tanetar, Calico et al) - I was always inspired by craft, and technique and fabric . So all my work (for example the Kantha and block printing) was always directed more by the fabric, rather than the styling.

MC: So, you are a textile designer then.

KA: Well, a multi disciplinary designer really. It helps that I've studied both fashion and textile.It broadens my options. At this point I’d love to design textiles for home furnishings, which is why I recently did a collection of wallpaper. I don’t want to rule out fashion as an option but we'll see what comes along.

MC: What are your big influences?

KA:India.Intentionally,unintentionally.Consciously, subconsciously. I'm very big on Photography. I love the idea of documenting small details.Everything I shoot helps me with colour, composition, scale, shape, form & pattern when I'm designing. I guess you could say I like the idea of 'visual communication', which is why I love textiles and photography and the narrative quality that they can (or cannot) have.

MC:How would you define your work?

KA:Being a student, you don't have a particular style really.I guess that will develop once I'm out of college. The idea is to go back home and work with craftspeople to contemporarize traditional Indian textiles.For now, I'm doing a lot of screen printing.

MC:Would you like to say anything to the people reading this interview?

KA:Hello :)

Kate Banazi

British born Screen printing Goddess Kate Banazi resides in Sydney. She is a little bit of quirky and a whole lot of talent. She has a fashion degree from Central St. Martins where she excelled at Illustration and measuring the inside legs of beautiful male models .
Other interesting trivia :Has made beverages for Jack Nicholson and a pig suit for a Fat Boy Slim video. Clients have included PWC, Graniph, Unilever, Caparo, Slipmode, and numerous private commissions. And Finally , Is right handed, brown eyed, often melancholy(Me too Kate, me too). Visit her Etsy store at once. (via fly)

Lakshmi Prabhala

Lakshmi Prabhala's adventures through the view finder began 3 years ago when her brother gifted her a Point & Shoot camera. After a year and a half , she decided to take it to the next level with a Nikon D80 . She says life has never been the same. In her own words,"I take pictures to see what most of us miss everyday. A wonderful smile hidden in extreme poverty, a peaceful dream in the hustle bustle of everyday life or just a plain explosion of colours!"

I've been a big fan of Lakshmi Prabhala's work for a while now and I am absolutely amazed at how consistently good she is. You'll know what I'm talking about as soon as you visit her flickr stream. I had a hard time picking just a few , I decided I'd go with what I'm feeling today - kids. I read somewhere that it's impossible to feel anger when you're holding a child. There is some truth in that.

Dhruvi Acharya

My love for Dhruvi Acharya will never stop. I continue to be fascinated by the people she paints. To me, she represents the turn that contemporary art is taking in India. I love that there are so many things in her paintings that amuse and puzzle me . It's interesting how everything is painted in pinks and purples and other pretty colours but the subject's themselves have thought bubbles that look like they belong on the inside of your cheek (& other body parts). Her people wear carefully patterned clothes ( several pieces of which Dhruvi herself is known to wear) that sort of bely their possibly unsettling thoughts and events of their daily lives.

This is the sort of art I'd personally love to see on my walls.

Karan Singh

The first time I saw his work , it literally just blew my mind . Sydney based Karan Singh produces work that can only be classified as 'ridiculously good' and to think he's all of 20. Go visit his website for more ridiculous goodness.

Anupama Swaminathan

Montreal based Anupama Swaminathan has a degree in Fine Arts and she put it to good use when she decided to launch her eponymous lifestyle brand Anupama. The line of products showcases the age old hand drawn Kalamkari technique with a contemporary flavour.

Natasha Preenja

Natasha Preenja is an artist/illustrator from Delhi . She has an MFA from the College of Art in her hometown. She is an avid fashion buff and is interested in textile design, printmaking, silkscreen and digital art but nothing gives her more creative satisfaction like spending the day at her studio painting. More of her works soon.

Manisha Gera Baswani

I'm more of a Beatles girl myself but I find this painterly homage to Elvis 'the king' Presley quite cute. Artist Manisha Gera Baswani revists her fascination for the great icons from her childhood by marrying pop culture with her former training in the technique of mughal miniatures.

Vineet Kacker

"Vineet Kacker’s works incorporate dialogues as varied as those of building and architecture, man’s quest for the spiritual, the function of decoration and the language of symbols. He updates ancient language systems, playfully re-ordering and re-contextualizing them."