21 Under 31 – 2023 | Ricky Vasan, 22
MASSACHUSETTS

Ricky Vasan, 22

At First Glance, oil on canvas, 40 x 30.

I Love You and I Need You to Know, oil on canvas, 36 x 48.

Style: I’m a representational painter interested in how we perceive and retain visual information. My work is based on the idea of remembrance and I’m always trying to awaken some form of nostalgia in my viewers; be it through choice of subject matter or formal stylistic decisions in color and form.

Creative Spark: Drawing and painting have been integral forces in my development, some of my earliest memories involve art making. Growing up in India in a very academically conservative society, it was hard for a while to juggle multiple things but art-making acted as a form of respite and really was a way of unwinding.

Art Education: Until college, I was mostly self-taught; we didn’t really have an art program in my high school so most of my technical learning came from the internet. I am currently in my last year at Massachusetts College of Art and Design and these last four years have been incredible. The fact that I got to focus solely on making art was something that I had fantasized about ever since I was a child.

Best Art Advice Received: My sculpture professor Chuck Stigliano has probably given me some of the best advice during my time at MassArt…He instilled in me this idea of making mistakes and not hiding from them and letting them inform whatever it is that I am trying to chase artistically. This way of rewiring my brain really allowed me to develop my work and visual language.

Favorite Studio Music: I like to listen to records when I am in the studio. It’s also how I keep time and not overwork myself. Once an album is finished, I know it’s time to sit down for 5 minutes. This year I was listening to High Violet by The National almost every single day.

Favorite Work by Another Artist: The Table by Antonio Lopez Garcia.

Artistic Goals: I think my long-term goal is to mentor younger artists or be some kind of an example for someone else’s life path. It has been very difficult for me to come across South Asian artists and I’ve had to figure a lot of this out myself…My wish is to flip that script for someone else and be someone other young South Asian artists can look up to.

Other Passions: Apart from painting I also like to make music, write songs and play gigs around town.

Price Range: $800-$3,000

Contact Information: rickyvasan.com