The Ford Family Foundation has named Avantika Bawa, associate professor of fine arts, as one of five Oregon Hallie Ford Fellows in the Visual Arts for 2018.
The foundation praised Bawa for her work “at the intersection of geographic, architectural and cultural differences in landscape, influenced by minimalism with an emphasis on reductive form, modularity and experimentation with scale. She is particularly known for her dedication to researching and responding to sites, often through wall drawings, paintings and repurposed functional objects, to create temporary site-based installations.”
Bawa has received critical reviews in Art Slant India, ART India, and The Indian Express, three respected India-based publications as well as in Art Asia Pacific, ArtUS, The New York Times, New York Sun, and The Brooklyn Rail based in New York, NY.
“My practice is an exploration of site and space expressed through a minimalist vocabulary of drawing, sculpture and installation,” Bawa said. “A combined interest in travel, geography and Formalism has led to an engagement with site-specific installations and drawings informed by Modernist architecture.”
Bawa will receive a $25,000 unrestricted award for her excellent work and potential for significant advancement of her practice of art.
Top image: Bawa with her art
From WSU Insider