An Interview With Vick Naresh
Vick Naresh crafts captivating abstract worlds where vibrant colors and complex forms collide. His work, a fusion of biomorphic and geometric elements, transcends the tangible, pulling viewers into imagined environments steeped in nostalgia and memory. Through layered abstraction, Naresh invites us to explore the unseen, bridging the gap between personal experience, art history, and the profound realms of spirituality and science, ultimately unlocking the hidden narratives of time.
Can you tell us a little bit about you?
Hi I’m Vick Naresh and I’m a painter based in Hamilton, Canada. I was born in Mumbai, India and initially studied physics but shifted to the arts after realizing my true passion. Early in my career, I became involved in graphic design, eventually managing commercial brands for a living. After moving to Canada, I continued to work in brand design for over a decade while also pursuing art.
Subsequent to rediscovering my artistic voice and engaging with Hamilton’s vibrant arts community, I began creating and exhibiting work both locally and internationally. I now work out of my industrial studio space in the thriving community at the Cotton Factory in Hamilton. In my work, I paint large-scale, imagined environments that explore nostalgia, memory, and identity, informed by my design aesthetic & cultural sensibilities gathered over the years. I am currently represented by Dianna Witte Gallery in Toronto & The CAMP gallery in Miami.
How has your work evolved over time? Are there any significant shifts in your style or themes?
The evolution of my work has been subtle and overt at the same time, I think. I’m primarily interested in creating an aesthetic that encourages introspection and investigation with hopefully nuanced suggestions of what the work might be of. My current practice has evolved from a synthesis of different painting ideologies where I’m generally walking a line between mystery and emotional resonance.
Over the years my work has become more layered but also more simplified, and my themes have gotten a bit more personal as I have immersed myself in the concepts I wish to portray. More intriguing palettes have also emerged as I’ve learnt to command my language better. When I was recently awarded a 6- month Residency by the Hamilton Art Council I was encouraged by the fact that this journey of discovery was being well received. This was where I had the opportunity to establish my current manner of painting and some of the visual elements therein.
You mention nostalgia, identity, and memory as key themes. How do you translate these abstract concepts into visual language?
Painting is an essential part of who I am - it's when I feel most myself. At the same time the themes that I focus on bring a certain calibration to my experience living here on a planet which is dependent on a distant star to exist. Exploring memory, I think is central to my work which then naturally flows into nostalgia because they are inseparable. I like to travel back into certain planes of memory and immerse myself in what that scene looked like and what it communicated to me on a subverbal level. These could be memories of learning, of success, of failure or trial and finding joy. The thing with memories is that they are fleeting and already being processed by the brain as an amalgamation of various slices built up into a barely tangible form. This visual space is very interesting to me and it’s an ideal candidate to start an abstract painting with ties to something physical. As the work progresses, I find I’m able to diversify my initial idea and pour more content into it – but initially, the spark of inspiration comes from an immersion in that imaginative space that has almost no boundaries.
In addition, I often explore themes of belonging & identity to stay connected to my roots and learn how my journey as an immigrant has shaped my synthesis of the world around me. I often ask myself “What does it mean to belong” or what is the marker to finally arrive in a new culture. These questions demand exploration, and for me, the most profound way to understand them is through painting.
"Multi-layered abstraction" is central to your work. Can you describe your layering process?
For me, multi-layered abstraction is a process of layering ideas over previous ones, allowing overlays to merge into new visuals or reveal unexpected spaces that expand the narrative. It’s a way of creating a dynamic surface where mapped-out concepts intertwine with spontaneous gestures. Getting both those worlds to pull together creates a path to completion that is both challenging and stimulating. As a result, my final works rarely resemble what I initially started out making.
I also avoid getting overly attached to parts of the painting too early in the process because I find this complicates the whole process making it much harder to work around something that is being preserved while the rest of the canvas moves in a different direction over time. Instead, I practice destroying these precious areas by overlaying them with new layers to take away their structure and occupation on the canvas. Very often, I let nearly complete paintings sit in the studio for months as I observe them every day while working on other paintings. Like silent guests, they sit there with me until they finally start speaking. These moments ignite a surge of energy – the urgency to shift the narrative, push the composition further, and refine the dialogue between layers. This process continues on like a seesaw until I feel the painting has said all it can.
Birds of Paradise - 2022
How do you choose the colors for each layer in your work? Do they have specific symbolic meanings or emotional associations?
I usually choose my colours intuitively based on what is presented on the canvas. I lean here on the years of working in design that instinctually inform my colour choices and the palettes I explore. I often also explore the materiality of colour where I’m using it not just to work with the surrounding colours but to also provide a means to sculpt and texturize. So, depending on the concept, colour sometimes takes on the role of becoming part of the topography of the surface interacting via scrapes, pulls, marks, washes, etc.
Growing up in Mumbai, a city saturated with vibrant colour has probably also influenced my colour perception. I remember growing up in a city filled with larger-than-life posters of Bollywood movies that were hand painted in the most dazzling hues bold, surreal, and immersive. That fearless embrace of color as a portal to an alternate reality has stayed with me to this day.
What are some of the biggest challenges you've faced as an artist and how have you overcome them?
Navigating a new culture as a young immigrant and finding your way was certainly a unique challenge. At the same time, as I look back now, I realize I made paintings throughout that period to cope with the unique situations I found myself in. It was probably my way of debriefing, a way to make sense of the experience. When I eventually returned to my practice with renewed focus, I faced a different set of challenges. Now time had moved on, and I felt there was still much to learn. Determined not to let anything interrupt my journey again, I fully committed myself to the process, aligning my work with my ideas, and dedicating as much time as possible to growth and experimentation. Over the years, as I have learnt to bring my true self to the table, I think my work has mirrored that intent.
Age of Aquarius - 2024
Your earliest memory of art?
Interestingly, I do remember drawing at a really young age. These are memories of me drawing at the daycare while my mom was at work, and I remember trying to copy cartoon characters with my friends.
Are there any artists or art movements that have influenced your work? How have these influences shaped your style and approach?
As a kid I came upon a collection of books called The Great Masters that introduced me to the work of Blake, Derain, Toulouse-Lautrec, Turner & Goya but most importantly the work of Van Gogh who largely inspires me to this day. In my teens I began being influenced by postmodernist Indian contemporaries like Arpita Singh, M.F. Hussain, Raja Ravi Verma & Satish Gujral in particular. And then later as my understanding of my work expanded, I became immersed in the work of visionaries like Holmer, Basquiat & Vuillard. I see my current style as a subconscious homage to these influences, bringing together elements of Post-Impressionism, Neo-Expressionism, and Fauvism into a dialect uniquely my own.
What is your favourite book or film and why?
Fun question—I’m a huge fan of Stanley Kubrick’s work, especially The Shining. It’s a masterful film, arguably ahead of its time, an enduring tale of the supernatural mixed in with the horror of circumstance, affected by tremendous courage and frailty in the face of conflict. I remember being gripped by its hypnotic visuals first and then understanding the layers of subtext playing out in every scene. Just brilliant!
Are you working on any projects you are particularly excited about?
Yes, I’ve just finished a solo show at the Assembly Gallery in Hamilton that was very well received and I’m taking some time to recalibrate my bearings before launching into a new body of work. I’m particularly excited about working on my upcoming solo show at Dianna Witte Gallery in Toronto followed by another show early next year at The Camp Gallery in Miami.