
ABOUT
Ritu Arya (b.1991) is a multidisciplinary artist from India, currently based in Glasgow. Her work revolves around sorrow, melancholia, longing & similar sentiments with a constant emphasis on the sufferings that untended trauma creates. In the last few years, she has exhibited her work in Cologne, Moscow, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee and Port Sunshine (England). She was awarded the RSS Gilbert Bayes Grant in 2023 and a commission from the Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival 2024.
My artistic practice investigates the persistent imprint of unprocessed trauma on everyday life. Although sculpture is my primary medium, I often incorporate text and imagery to expand the narrative. Positioned between the organic and the abstract, my works are bodily, archaic, and multifaceted; marked by anatomical hints, cracks, cavities, and openings. These material-driven forms reflect inner agitation and a sense of void while remaining open to personal interpretation.
I am particularly drawn to behavioural patterns that emerge amid mental decline and the emotional threads that connect those who suffer. My sculptures seek to give form to these shared, often unspoken, experiences – offering a space where the psychological becomes tangible.
The Glasgow School of Art • Master of Fine Art (2021-2023)
National Institute of Fashion Technology, Bangalore (IN) • Bachelor of Design (Textile)
2010 - 2014
EDUCATION
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2025 (Upcoming) | Auchingarrich Wildlife Park Public Sculptural Project | Crieff, Scotland.
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2025 (Ongoing, June-Sep) | Unstable – Indepedents Biennial X GAS | The Stables, Port Sunshine | England.
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2025 (June) | Chromatopia | Sett Studios | Edinburgh.
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2024 (October) | In/Visible Commission Exhibit | The Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival 2024 | The Centre for Contemporary Arts | Glasgow.
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2024 (May) | Night Shift | New Glasgow Society | Glasgow.
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2024 (February) | The End Of Glory | blip blip blip | Moscow.
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2023 (September) | Old Contemporaries | Generator Projects | Dundee (UK).
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2021 and 2020 | INDERNET | Kunsthafen Köln | Cologne (Germany).
EXHIBITIONS
2024 | In/Visible Commission - Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival
2023 | Gilbert Bayes Charitable Trust Grant
2022 | The Scotsman - Glasgow School of Art MFA Interim Show