Chetan Bhakuni is a South Asian artist whose studio practice spans drawings, paintings, and one animated movie to date. Working primarily with mixed media art, he uses autobiographical narration to explore identity, emotion, and memory. His work often reflects a deeply personal journey; one that examines his complex relationship with his mother and the societal structures that shape it.

Through his oil paintings and drawings, Chetan addresses themes of societal suppression, feudal mentality, and domestic violence. Through his artworks, he creates a space for a conversation to unfold between his mother, himself and the viewer.

Art Practice

Chetan’s approach is both technical and emotional. He continuously experiments with materials and mark-making, balancing controlled precision with instinctive gestures. The use of a palette knife creates strong, defined patterns that contrast with the fluidity of his strokes, while his restrained colour palette heightens the tension within each composition.

His oil painting on panel/wood works are particularly known for their depth and texture. By combining this with the delicacy of water-colour painting and the immediacy of ball-point pen drawing, Chetan constructs a layered, almost tactile visual experience. His mixed media explorations, often incorporating plaster and textured surfaces, give his paintings a sculptural presence. Everyday objects appear disproportionately large or symbolically charged against dark, flat backgrounds, creating surreal, dreamlike scenes that blur the line between memory and imagination.

Artistic Philosophy

Chetan Bhakuni believes that each artwork can generate an idea capable of setting off an endless chain of emotional and psychological events, an energy that transcends the artwork itself. For him, art becomes a shared space of empathy and reflection. Through his narrative and autobiographical mixed media art, Chetan connects diverse identities and experiences, transforming personal stories into universal expressions of resilience and healing.

Although his visual world often revolves around deeply personal and painful memories such as domestic violence, alcoholism, and social hierarchies, it also opens pathways for collective catharsis. Each painting becomes a fragment of a larger consciousness, inviting viewers to reflect on their own emotional histories.