Artist profile: Amita Ramchandani
Lisa Brown (L) with Amita Ramchandani (R). Photo credit: Ciaran Willis at LDN.
The Smallest Gallery In Soho is currently filled with colourful fabric pom-poms. They hang from the ceiling, they drape to the floor, and they remind me of the giant polyethylene roller brushes used in an automated car wash, which is fitting because at first glance you might think you’ll have to call the local council to have graffiti removed from the artworks. The letter A has been prolifically tagged all over a series of vibrant abstract paintings. The A is intentional. A is for Amita, something artist Amita Ramchandani started saying, and also incorporating into her art, about a year ago.
The appearance of the A was a noticeable inflection point in Amita’s art, something that appeared visually strong and seemed self assured. “This was just a bit punchier. Shouting rather than delicate.” says Lisa Brown, the artist facilitator who works with Amita. “I just felt she [Amita] wanted to be seen.”
For Amita Ramchandani the need to make is all that matters. Exhibitions, sales and critical accolades don’t factor into her practice, but not because of focus or intention. For over two decades Anita has been a valued member of ActionSpace, a visual arts organisation with the mission to seek out and unlock talent, create opportunities and enable learning disabled artists to realise their potential. One of the reasons they’ve been so successful is that they focus on art, not disability. As such, each artist’s condition is often not just left unsaid, it might not even be known. Lisa tells me that she knows very little about Amita’s back story, but she knows a lot about Amita the artist.
Listening to Lisa talk about Amita is a bit like hearing a doting personal assistant describe their boss. “She chooses her colours. She selects her brushes. She takes the lead. Amita will say what she likes or doesn’t like, but she doesn’t explain why. She avoids direct questions.” Lisa explains the role of an artist facilitator as someone who helps the artist build their art practice, ideally to a professional level. Like a tutor they may suggest new materials or ideas but it is fundamentally a hands-off, artist-led engagement. They give advice and critical feedback and that works best when the relationships are given time and space to grow. Lisa has known Amita for 15 years, which might be why she was so excited to see the recent changes in her work. So much so that it led to her outreach to The Smallest Gallery in Soho, proudly claiming “This is fabulous. This needs to be exhibited.”
Lisa is a working artist. She runs SketchPad Drawing in London, but making art isn’t her only passion. A desire to help artists nurture and grow brought her to ActionSpace where she has spent the past two decades as Associate Artist and Artist Facilitator. It is a fulfilling but challenging role. Lisa explains that working with the artists sometimes requires her to “carefully navigate what should be a simple process, but isn’t.” The current show is a good example.
Photo credit : The Smallest Gallery in Soho
For Amita, art is about the physical making. Her work has previously appeared in group shows but the ability to physically step inside a gallery and meander around her own creations was a new and impactful moment. “She just lit up, and was immediately ‘in’ the space.”, Lisa says, commenting that Amita initially appeared to find the experience strange, then familiar, and then she took an active role in the final placement of the work. “How it’s hung now is a collaboration of ideas, but it’s very much based on the potential of the paintings and fabrics she made.”
Amita has always loved adorning the top surface of her paintings. Previously she’s sewn buttons or beads into her work, creating canvasses that appeared almost sculptural. The use of large pom-poms is a recent exploration, but fabric has been part of her artwork for years. Sewing is something she was taught at home in her childhood, and having worked with her for so many years Lisa comments that it’s obvious Amita learned the skills at a young age. “She knows how to sew.”
For many artists, and specifically ActionSpace artists, gallery support can be incredibly rare. It’s a frustrating reality-check, especially since the ability for an artist to show their work, and see it shown, is an essential development opportunity without which they can’t grow and advance. Smallest Gallery co-director Philip Levine comments that “ActionSpace produce good level artists that can reach higher if the art world gives them scope to rise.” It’s too soon to tell what impact this show will have for Amita. For now she is doing what all artists do when they get their first solo: savouring the moment and taking advantage of the chance to see and evaluate her own work in a new way.
A quick disclaimer:
As a Friend of the Gallery, London Art Roundup is provided with advance and behind-the-scenes access to interview the artists that exhibit at The Smallest Gallery in Soho. All contributions are voluntary. Neither the artist, gallery or London Art Roundup received any financial compensation for this interview.
Click here to read our interview with The Smallest Gallery in Soho.
Plan your visit
‘A’ runs until August 2025.
Visit thesmallestgalleryinsoho.com and follow @thesmallestgalleryinsoho on Instagram for more info about the venue.
View Amita’s bio, and visit actionspace.org and follow @actionspace on Instagram for more info about the charity and their artists.
Visit sketchpaddrawing.co.uk and follow @sketchpaddrawing on Instagram for more info about Lisa Brown.
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