ABOUT

Ritu Arya is a visual artist currently based in Glasgow. Her practice is driven by human emotions, personal melancholia, and deep longing, with a focus on examining, dissecting, and articulating the lingering effects of unaddressed trauma in daily life.
 

She has exhibited her work in Edinburgh, Liverpool, Cologne, Moscow, Glasgow, and Dundee [UK], and has received recognition through the Bragi Award for Visual Arts (presented by Shepherd and Wedderburn and Summerhall Arts at the Edinburgh Fringe, 2025), the Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival In/Visible Commission (2024), and the Gilbert Bayes Charitable Trust Grant (2023).

"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."​