In Shreyasi Chatterjee’s (b.1960) artwork the idiom “a stitch in time, saves nine” takes on a profound metaphorical meaning. Particularly, in the context of a woman’s role as a wife, a mother and a private person. It is usually the woman who patches up things to accept, to mend for security or improvement, thereby getting a layered humanity and sensitivity. She uses stitch to animate the surface and perhaps also suggest the steps of human thought. Says Shreyasi, “At one level I’m trying to appropriate the language of creative craft so that it assumes a metaphorical significance.”

Ms. Chatterjee’s work is not only metaphorical, it also has architectural elements of a cityscape. Although Chatterjee’s art pieces are deeply contemplative, they are essentially celebratory and strongly gendered. Educated in Kala Bhavan, Santiniketan and Goldsmiths College, London, Shreyasi is one of the cutting edge artists of India working on serious post-modern issues and experimenting with indigenous art practices.