Tell us a little about yourself and your art!

I was born in Bagalkot, India, raised in the UAE, and have lived across multiple countries before settling in New Jersey, where I share my studio, life, and bohemian, wild garden with my husband, grown children, and garden critters. I hold a BFA from Sir JJ School of Art in Mumbai and an MFA in Illustration as Visual Essay from the School of Visual Arts in New York City. Over the years, my work has been exhibited from New Jersey to California, Tennessee, New York City, and Philadelphia, with pieces held in private collections across the USA, Canada, the UK, France, the UAE, and India.

How did you first get into art?

For years, I made art in fragments: squeezed into margins, gentle forays and shows. During nearly a decade of motherhood, homeschooling, and caretaking, I kept creativity alive in sketchbooks and stolen pockets of time. When I returned to the path, imagery spilled out dramatically, dense and unruly, marking a reclamation of creative space, which became the foundation of the practice I bring to my work today.

How long have you been an ACP instructor, and what is your favorite part about teaching?

I’ve been a teaching artist with the Arts Council of Princeton since 2021, and also teach from my home studio. For me, teaching is an extension of the same impulse that drives my art — connection. I find great joy in facilitating and creating a space where students feel free to explore, experiment, and surprise themselves. I bring my own experience and skillset to the table, but what I love most is the moment a student begins to find their own handwriting in watercolor — their own distinct and personal voice.

What inspires your artwork? And is there anything special inspiring you these days?

For many years, nurturing, caretaking, the energy of everyday tasks, and the spaces we inhabit have inspired me. I think of myself as a kind of wild gardener, weaving chaos with calm, letting materials, mark-making, and the mundane guide an intuitive process. Perhaps that will shift now, as the season of nurturing transforms with my children growing up. Each medium teaches me something different: watercolor and ink teach me to flow and listen; cyanotypes capture fleeting impressions of light and shadow; oil demands pressure, resistance, and revision; clay brings the hands fully into the work. Through all of it, I’m searching for — and finding — the cosmic within the domestic, and increasingly, the cosmic in everything I experience.

Who are some of your favorite artists?

Some of my favorite artists include V.S. Gaitonde, Paul Klee, and S.H. Raza, whose work continues to resonate deeply with me.

Among living artists, I’m inspired by:

Madhvi Parekh – saffronart.com/artists/madhvi–parekh

Nalini Malani – nalinimalani.com

Ali Banisadr – alibanisadr.com

Soumya Netrabile – soumyanetrabile.com

Where can people find out more about you?

You can explore my work and upcoming exhibitions at hemabharadwaj.com.

I currently have a solo show running until April 24 at the Hutchins Galleries in Lawrenceville, NJ — I’d love to see you there! You can also follow me on Instagram at @hema_a_bharadwaj and on Facebook at HemaBharadwajArt. 

For all links in one place, visit linktr.ee/hema_a_bharadwaj, or reach me directly at hema.bharadwaj.art@gmail.com.