Janhavi Khemka

Interdisciplinary Artist

2023 Bodies of Work

Visual Arts

Born in 1993 in Varanasi, India, Chicago-based artist Janhavi Khemka (she/her) is an interdisciplinary artist who graduated with a B.F.A. in Painting from the Faculty of Visual Art, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi in 2015. She studied MFA in Graphics from Kala Bhavana Visva-Bharati, Santiniketan, in 2017, and later, she pursued an MFA in Studio Arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, USA, in 2023.

Khemka explores acoustics through woodcut printmaking and experimental installations, incorporating animation, sound, performance, and vibratory materials. She has exhibited her artwork in regional, national, and international galleries and institutions throughout the United States, India, Norway, Korea, and the United Kingdom.

Janhavi Khemka's recent exhibitions at Hyde Park Art Center's Biennial, Comfort Station, and SITE Student Galleries in Chicago, IL, have received recognition. She has been awarded prestigious fellowships, including the KALA Art Institute Residency in Berkeley, California, and the 3Arts/Body of Work Residency in collaboration with the University of Illinois, Chicago, and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago. Khemka has also worked closely with renowned Japanese printmaker Paul Furneaux in Edinburgh, UK. She was honored with the UC Berkeley South Asia Artist Prize (2024) and the Lalit Kala Akademi Award (2022) for her installation Sapna.

Janhavi Khemka's Website

Self-portrait, 2024 35 colour woodcut print on rives BFK paper, 22” H x 19” W

Featured Artworks

There are two girls sitting on a light blue mat, holding hands with each other and touching their own throats.

Sudhanvi, 2017-2020 36 colour woodcut print on Fabiano paper and mirrors 96” W X 72” L x 7” H

An ear with two silver-colored earrings has fire on the side and the top. There are waves of water flowing from inside the ear.

My ear’s diagram, 2023 35 colour woodcut print on rives BFK paper 40” H x 30” W

The room is black and white, with only two walls. A TV hangs on the front wall. Charcoal drawings and a black hand-shaped sculpture hang on the white wall. The viewer stands on a white platform to watch the video.

Sapna, 2022 Woodcut print, stop-motion animation using woodcut prints, plywood platform, charcoal rubbing of door and plywood panel

Letter to My Mother, 2023 Stop motion animation from woodcut print, video projection, sound, vibration, plywood platform. 72 inches x 48 inches x 3 inches Image and Video by Mikey Mosher

Warning: It is time, 2023 Woodcut prints on rives BFK paper (3 Series). 88 x 42 inches. Comfort Station, Chicago Image by Mikey Mosher

My Room as Hell, 2021 Woodcut prints on rives BFK paper and Animation on the projection. 33 x 22 inches Image and Video by Janhavi Khemka and Mikey Mosher

#1505, 2023 Performance, Art and Technology, Utensils, Plywood Platform, Mic, AMP. Size variable, and platform: 36 inches x 36 inches x 3 inches. Comfort Station, Chicago Image by Mikey Mosher

A pink and red mat with patterns is kept on a white rectangular plywood platform. It is placed on a wooden floor. The mat has floral and geometric shapes that show lips in different movements.

“चटाई”, 2021 Woodcut print, plywood platform. 72 inches x 48 inches x 2 inches Image and Video by Janhavi Khemka and Mikey Mosher

A girl wearing a white and grey top with purple pants is lying on the floor, divided by a woodcut print in five parts.

Sleeping, 2022 Woodcut print. 4 panels of 96 x 24 inches (each); a small panel of 14 x 11 inches Image by Mikey Mosher

#1621, 2022 Charcoal on the Paper. Life size of doors (six series) Image by Janhavi Khemka