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Exploring Nature’s Mysteries: In conversation with Rohini Sen

Rohini Sen is a New Zealand-born artist living and working in the United States. Sen holds a background in Zoology and an MFA from the New York Academy of Art. She has taught at the Los Angeles Academy of Figurative Art, Disney Animation Studios, and the City University of New York, and is currently CE Faculty at the New York Academy of Art. Sen is a representational painter who explores the natural sciences as they intersect with her history and contemporary experiences. She searches for parallels between the lives of animals and our own human experience. In this way, natural and human history unite in a shared space. Whether this is reflected through allegorical depictions of wild animals or a specimen-like presentation of the subject, her current body of work seeks to explore the primal duality of motherhood, and the inexhaustible comparisons found in the wild that echo this.

“Rohini Sen” Levuana Iridescens, 2021, 38 x 50″, woodcut print on stonehenge

1. Rohini, your journey into the art world is incredibly diverse, spanning from New Zealand to prestigious academies and studios across the globe. Can you share with us what initially sparked your passion for art and how your background in zoology influences your creative viewpoint

2.   With a wealth of academic training and teaching experience, how do you approach the balance between preserving traditional techniques and fostering creativity and innovation in your artwork and the classroom?

3. Your aesthetic philosophy revolves around exploring humanity and beauty, creating moments of contemplation and connection. How do you translate these philosophical concepts into tangible elements within your artwork?

4. You’ve worked extensively with various mediums, including oil paint, graphite, charcoal, and printmaking. How do you decide which medium to use for a particular piece, and how does each medium contribute to the overall expression of your creative vision?

It can be a practical decision, where some visuals just lend themselves to a certain medium and technique more than others. It can also be more about the history of the medium itself and what that adds to the work. When it comes to science and nature, printmaking has had a long connection and history to the subject matter, as well as oil, both from a western point of view and the ancient eastern cultures. Charcoal and graphite is how I build up most of my ideas, and sometimes that is all I need to express them in full. When it comes to the surface of the work and the importance of creating an optical illusion of texture and some kind of haptic sense to the form, then that will dictate the medium I use.

6.  Lastly, could you share with us a bit about your upcoming courses at the New York Academy of Art, and  What do you hope students will take away from these courses?

My current class at NYAA is Portrait Drawing Deconstructed. My objective with this class is to break down the intimidating and complex structure of the portrait. Whether you are working from life, photograph or imagination, knowing the underlying structure and universal qualities of the portrait are extremely important. Whatever our source, there is often information hidden or lacking, and that is where the theory comes into play and can fill in the gaps. My hope is that students emerge with more confidence and a little bit of x-ray vision when looking at the portrait. I also have a couple of classes online that are self-paced and can be watched at any time. The Art of Line, and Composition, these classes offer a foundation for beginners or artists that would like to refresh their basic understanding on the topics.

As we bid farewell to our conversation with Rohini Sen, we carry with us a sense of wonder and gratitude for the insights she has shared. Through her words and her art, Rohini has illuminated the beauty and complexity of the world around us, reminding us of our interconnectedness with nature and each other. To know more about Rohini, click on the links provided below to visit her profile.

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