The Open Studio / Shreya Shukla
Shreya Shukla
Unbound Connection IV
Six pieces fit together, but what they hold does not
Brown wood grain runs out to the edges like an old tabletop.
Six yellow pieces wait there, already joined.
In each one a dark well opens.
Pink things float in the wells: a face, a page, a knot of beads.
Every line goes round and round, like thread pulled slowly through cloth.
The puzzle is finished. What it holds is not.
The work
Unbound Connection IV is acrylic on canvas from 2025. Shreya Shukla sets six yellow puzzle pieces on a ground the colour of dark wood. The pieces lock together. Inside each one is a dark pool with pink shapes. Some look like faces, open books or coiled rope. Two look like broken maps. Fine lines circle every form like stitched thread. Shukla lives in Kanpur Nagar. Her earthy colours come from a rural childhood. Her love of line comes from learning embroidery with her mother and grandmother.
- Theme
- Bonds of everyday life
- Material
- Acrylic on canvas
- Size
- 60.96 × 91.44 × 2.5 cm
- Year
- 2025
- Edition
- 1/1 (Unique Piece)
- Framed
- No
- About the artist
- University of Allahabad
- From
- Kanpur Nagar
- Code
- RC-552
In the artist’s words
I am Shreya Shukla, an active Indian artist based in Kanpur Nagar (Uttar Pradesh) and a graduate of the University of Allahabad. Growing up in a rural home, art wasn’t something I saw in books or galleries—it was a part of our daily life. I spent my childhood observing how closely people are connected to their surroundings, their daily chores, and the simple objects in their homes. There is an unspoken, lifelong bond between human life and everyday spaces, and that connection became the foundation of my art. Folk Materials & Memories My deep love for earthy tones comes directly from my childhood memories. I was always fascinated by Geru,…
