Vibrant colour, symbolic imagery, and hybrid forms define Bandana Kumari’s painting practice. Her works explore the relationship between the human body and the natural world, drawing from the belief that the same elements earth, water, fire, air, and sky exist within both. Rooted in folk and tribal traditions such as godna (tattoo) culture, her compositions merge human and animal forms, often presenting figures with animal heads and ornamented bodies. These layered elements birds, flowers, celestial forms, and creatures extend the body into a symbolic space where identity is shaped by both nature and culture. Her work centres on the representation of women as powerful, transformative beings. Responding to societal contradictions that both revere and diminish the feminine, Kumari reimagines the female form as resilient and expansive embodying strength, beauty, and the potential to transcend imposed limitations.

Solo Exhibitions

• She is a Lioness, Nehru Centre (2022)
• Truth Revealed, Triveni Kala Sangam (2021)

Selected Exhibitions

• Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai
• India Art Festival (Bengaluru, 2022)
• Kochi-Muziris Biennale – Students’ Biennale (2021)
• Bombay Art Society (2019)
• STIR Gallery, New Delhi – Art Incept Grant Show (2021)

Awards & Residencies

• HK Kejriwal Young Artist Award (2018)
• Prafulla Dahanukar Art Foundation Award
• National Scholarship, Ministry of Culture
• Government of India CCRT Fellowship, Ministry of Culture (2018)