Aarthi Deshmukh Haig

BIOGRAPHY

Aarthi Deshmukh Haig is a South Asian American mixed media artist in Fairfax, VA. She combines ink and watercolor on paper that she tears by hand to create abstract depictions of her past, present, and future. Aarthi’s work has been exhibited in the U.S. and Canada, as well as online, and published in books and zines. She grew up in rural Pennsylvania and has lived in New York and Paris. She has a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Bryn Mawr College and a Juris Doctor degree from Villanova University School of Law. Aarthi has two children who, like their mother’s art, are bold and expressive.

ARTIST STATEMENT

My finished art pieces are abstract maps of how I navigate the intersection of healing from past pain, accepting the present moment, and daring to imagine the future. Exploring materials, testing their limits, and watching how they interact drives my art process. I investigate the choreography of fluid instinct through watercolor paint, raw emotion by gently (and sometimes aggressively) tearing and peeling paper, and precise intellect by meticulously drawing intricate lines. Light and shadows that are real and imagined guide me as I work. I like watercolor because of how difficult it is to control. I voluntarily relinquish my power to it and make myself vulnerable. I find strength in doing so volitionally, knowing that I can reclaim my power at any moment because of the technical skill I've acquired. I physically reshape my work by tearing away pieces, remembering that nothing in life has to be all good or all bad; instead, I can discard what doesn’t feel right and nurture what remains.