Artist Bio

 

Hemant Rao (b. July 29, 1984, Madhya Pradesh, India) is a self-taught visual artist from India; he was awarded the American Dream Fellowship at Art Omi, New York, USA in 2025. Over the years, he has received several prestigious recognitions, including the Junior Artist Fellowship in Visual Arts (Painting) from the Ministry of Culture, Government of India (2011–12) and the 60th National Academy Award from Lalit Kala Akademi (2019).

 

Hemant Rao is currently represented by Dhoomimal Gallery, New Delhi.

 

His artistic journey began at the Graphic Studio, Bharat Bhawan, Bhopal, where he worked at the community studio from 2005 to 2010. Since then, Rao has presented his work in both solo and group exhibitions across India and internationally. His solo exhibition was held at Gallery Art & Soul, Mumbai (2016). He has also participated in group exhibitions at contemporary galleries such as Art Houz, Chennai, as well as institutions like Bharat Bhawan, Bhopal.

 

Rao’s works have been showcased at major contemporary art platforms including the India Art Fair (2024, 2022, 2020) at NSIC, New Delhi, with the 2024 edition presented at the BMW Collectors’ Lounge at India Art Fair. Other significant exhibitions include Art Mumbai (2024), Art of India by the Times of India Group at India Habitat Centre, New Delhi (2023), and Madras Art Weekend in Chennai (2023, 2024). Internationally, his work has been exhibited at events such as the Busan International Art Fair and Seoul Art Festival (2011), Bangkok Triennale (2014), and Art Revolution Taipei (2019).

 

His works are part of several important public and institutional collections, including the Bihar Government Museum, Uttarayan Art Foundation (Vadodara), Triveni Museum (Ujjain), Silpakorn University (Bangkok), and Takshila Educational Society (TES), Bihar. His works are also held in private collections, including those of American real estate developer Francis J. Greenburger and former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Digvijay Singh.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Available Works 

 

Horizon Is a State of Mind is a series of abstract paintings by Indian contemporary artist Hemant Rao, inspired by his time spent at 2025 American Dream Fellowship at Art Omi: Artists Residency in New York. The series explores perception, memory, matter, space, and the shifting relationship between the self and its environment.

 

Working primarily with dry pastel on paper and canvas, Rao builds atmospheric, meditative compositions through layered colour, tonal transitions, geometric forms, lines, and shifting abstract forms, creating spaces that feel physical, architectural as well as psychological.

 

The artist considers the horizon not simply as a boundary between earth and sky, but as a changing state of perception. Forms appear, dissolve, intersect, and reconnect, suggesting movement, belonging, distance, memory, and the continuous interconnection between humans and the natural world. 

 

 

 

Untitled I to VI, 2025

Dry pastel on canvas

36 × 36 inches

₹3,15,000

(Each)