Unseen Impressions — A solo art exhibition by Devipriya P

DheRa art studio presents Unseen Impressions A solo art exhibition featuring printmaking & paintings by Devipriya P (Visual Artist and Art Educator).

Artist Statement

My work begins with observation – of nature, of people, and of the quiet traces that experiences leave behind.

For me, a monoprint is never simply an image. It is an impression of a moment: a mark formed through pressure, transfer, layering and chance. I am particularly drawn to working with leaves collected from places I have visited. Each leaf carries its own form, texture and history. By using these leaves to create prints, I bring fragments of particular places and moments into my work. The leaf becomes more than a natural form; it becomes a silent witness to where I have been and what I have encountered a fragment of place, memory and story without words.

These impressions of nature become a starting point for reflecting on our relationship with the world around us. Birds, insects, animals and other natural forms appear throughout my work not merely as subjects, but as metaphors for human experience. Through them, I explore ideas of identity, vulnerability, desire, survival, adaptation, loneliness, connection, consumption and loss.

A snail can suggest the experience of carrying one’s home within. A chameleon can speak of adaptation and the search for identity. A butterfly can become an image of resilience, while a tree frog can represent sensitivity as a form of strength. Birds may travel along different paths while sharing a destination. In other works, fish, sharks and cats become part of a broader reflection on desire, consumption and our relationship with the natural world. Nature, therefore, becomes a mirror – reflecting both the personal and the social.

I am interested in what exists between what is seen and what remains unseen. My layered surfaces are built through impressions, fragments, transfers and removals.

At times, the image emerges clearly; at others, it remains partially concealed. This process reflects the nature of memory itself. Experiences are never preserved exactly as they occurred. They are reshaped by time, emotion, distance and recollection, yet they continue to leave traces within us.

Rice paper plays an important role in this process because of its delicacy and its ability to receive and hold every mark. Its physical fragility contrasts with the emotional weight carried by the images. The resulting surface becomes a meeting point between nature, memory and lived experience.

Through Unseen Impressions, I am not seeking to capture nature or a particular moment in its entirety. Instead, I am interested in what remains: the trace, the fragment, the memory, the feeling- the quiet evidence of having been there.

Every leaf carries a place.
Every impression carries a moment.
& every unseen trace has a story to tell.

Devipriya P
Visual Artist and Art Educator

About the Artist

Devi Priya P is a Bengaluru-based visual artist and Art & Design educator whose
multidisciplinary practice spans painting, sculpture, printmaking and mixed
media. Rooted in sustained observation of nature and human experience, her
work explores the traces that memory, place and everyday encounters leave
behind.

She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting from Karnataka Chitrakala
Parishath, Bengaluru, and master of fine art Art history ( bridge course from
MSU Baroda ) Master of Fine Arts in Painting, ( KSOU ) Her formative years in
printmaking were shaped by an immersive apprenticeship in the studio of the late
master artist JMS Mani, an experience that deepened her engagement with
printmaking techniques, material processes and the tactile qualities of the
printed surface.

Alongside her artistic practice, Devi Priya has been engaged in Art & Design
education for over 21 years at National Academy for Learning (NAFL), Bengaluru,
an esteemed international school, where she continues to work as an Art &
Design educator. Her long-standing association with the institution reflects her
commitment to nurturing creativity, encouraging individual artistic inquiry and
creating meaningful opportunities for students to engage with art and design.

Her experience as both an artist and educator informs her approach to materials,
observation and experimentation. She believes in allowing artistic processes to
remain open to discovery, where unexpected marks, textures and impressions can
become part of the visual language.

Awards & Appreciations

• 1st Prize for Art -“Heal the World”, TTA Training Academy, National Public School, 2026.
• Selected as Cambridge Internal Examiner, 2025.
• Teachers Award for 17 Years of Service, National Public School, 2025.
• Three students received Distinction in IGCSE Cambridge Art & Design, 2024–25.
• “Woman Change Maker”, recognised for contribution to society, News Trail, 2022.
• Karnataka Shilpakala Academy Award for Bronze Sculpture, 2016.
• Letter of Appreciation from the University of Cambridge, recognising a student
  who topped the AS Cambridge Examination in India for Art & Design, 2012–13.
• Best Composition – Nanjunda Siri Annual Art Exhibition, College of Fine Arts, Bengaluru, 2003.
• Best Painting – State Level, ABVP & Venkatappa Art Gallery, Bengaluru, 2002.

She lives & works in Bengaluru, continuing to explore how natural forms, material processes and memory can converge to create images that speak quietly—often beyond what is immediately visible.