Mumbai-based self-taught artist and bureaucrat Vandana Krishna presented her solo exhibition “Reflections” at the India International Centre – Annexe Art Gallery on November 24th, 2025. Inaugurated by Padmashri Geeta Chandran, renowned classical dancer and cultural icon, the exhibition will be open for visitors until November 30th, 2025 offering them an intimate journey through the artist’s visual reflections.

The inaugural evening was graced by distinguished guests, including Dr. Sanjeev Chopra, Senior Fellow at the Prime Minister’s Museum & Library and EC Member of the IIC; Dr. Anup Wadhawan, Former Commerce Secretary; and Ms. Neerja Chowdhury, award-winning journalist, author, and commentator; Rajiv Chandran, Writer, Critic & Commentator; Adil Khan, Designer & Art Connoisseur; Navina Jafa, Cultural Activist, Author and Renowned Performing Artist; Manoj Kumar Tripathy, Founder and Editor of Indian Creative Minds; Georgina Maddox, Critic & Curator; Dr. Ved Prakash, Writer & Artist and more. Their presence added depth and significance to the launch of this reflective artistic journey.

The idea for “Reflections” emerged one quiet evening when Vandana Krishna found herself looking back on her life — her Delhi roots, her years of service across Maharashtra, and her life today in Mumbai. “Those early years of learning new languages, adapting to new cultures, and finding my place in a different world shaped both the person and the artist I became,” she says. “Mumbai, with its pace, energy, and contradictions, became my muse, after all it is a city that reflects life in motion.”

Through “Reflections,” Vandana captures Mumbai’s ever-changing essence — its glass-clad towers, seaside vistas, rain-soaked streets, and mirrored distortions that hold both chaos and calm. Her semi-abstract style invites viewers to see beyond the surface, to find poetry in urban reflections and stillness in the midst of movement.

Influenced by artists such as Van Gogh, Monet, Vermeer, Matisse, and Klimt, and inspired by Indian masters like M. F. Husain and F. N. Souza, Vandana’s work balances bold strokes with nuanced tones. Her compositions hover between representation and abstraction, blending precision with emotion, and discipline with freedom.

For Vandana, painting has always been more than a pastime — it is a practice of reflection, mindfulness, and balance. Over the past eighteen years, she has pursued her art, finding in it a space for expression, stillness, and meaning.