Raju Baraiya

I was born in 1988 in Jafravad village in Gujarat. I belong to a farming family and I was the first to step out from my family and pursue formal higher education. I completed my M V A and B V A from the faculty of fine arts M S University in 2015. My art practice reflects the dichotomy of my village living in the city. While constantly correlating rural and urban notions. I am engaged with notion of urban and rural as a conceptually and visually in my painting. In large metropolises city and small cities such as a Baroda, The relationship between built structure, open space and people present complex pattern of urban development to response to and stemming from the heterogeneous modernity that continues to transform much of contemporary India. My Art practice to me is the endeavor to relocate the self, while the image to me succeeds, in representing this convergence. The village-like character is presented through miniature form of sheep animal, farms, and open fields in my works, while the spontaneous mark-making and gestures are an attempt in relocating myself to the city. I Often used Sheep form as Metaphor of human in my works. I received the All India Grant Award, P D Art Foundation, (Bombay) in2022. I had received the prestigious award the “GlenFiddich” for Best Emerging Artist of the Year in 2019, and Participated artist residency program at the Scotland GlenFiddich distillery in Dufftown, in 2019; All India Bronze Medal Award, P D Art Foundation (Bombay) in 2019; ABIR art ‘First Take’ award (Ahmedabad) in 2016; Nasreen Mohammadi best display award 2015; Ministry of Culture national award in 2014; Camel art foundation award (Bombay) in 2014; Gujarat kalapratisthan Award (Surat) in 2013; Kalasakshi Trust Award (Delhi) in 2012.