I am a painter working in the language of Abstract Expressionism as a means of catharsis. I am passionate about turning personal hardship into self-awareness and power, with painting as the reflective conduit. Transformation through transcendence has been a continuous theme in my life, and my work is an autobiographical response to those life experiences. I think of these micro-moments as relaying a collective heaviness and depth using gesture and emotion to convey particular instances in my personal history.
I invite the viewer into the works’ contemplative atmosphere to feel impacted—either brought to a place hidden in the shadows or transported to a divine realm. My work manifests dissonant elements simultaneously—the intervention of light into darkness, polished finishes contrasting against matte textures, fluidity interrupted by sharpness. I am interested in the formation of tension and the physical manifestation of the intangible. There is a delicate balance between accretion and excavation as I carve into the highly textured surface-driven work, revealing detail while releasing spontaneous energy upswept in harmonious resign.
Having found this conduit for expression and sanctuary in a world formed and controlled by my hand, my work becomes part of a chronological and personal story, resulting in declarations of triumph, memory, spirituality, and the soul of a woman of color.
BIOGRAPHY
Kamiesha Garbadawala was born in Westmoreland, Jamaica. She resides in New York City, where her studio practice is based. Kamiesha received a BBA in Fashion Design Marketing from Parsons School of Design in 1999. A former accessories designer, Kamiesha, launched a celebrated line of handbags (Alric Suba) with Barneys New York. Her creative passion has reemerged in the Visual Arts as a Painter working in the language of abstraction. Kamiesha’s work is an autobiographical response to critical life experiences and hardships, resulting in a cathartic effect. She expresses these meaningful micro-moments using gesture and emotion to convey a collective heaviness: the emotional complexity experienced through our individual and shared personal history.
In 2017, Kamiesha’s work was exhibited in Creative Mischief, Sonia Gechtoff Gallery/National Academy Museum, SCOPE Miami Beach, and Awakening, a solo show to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society New York. She took part in SVA’s Summer 2017 Residency Program. In 2018, her exhibition, Sugarcane, opened at Galleria Ca’ d’Oro in Chelsea, and she participated in Columbia University’s School of the Arts’ Summer Painting Intensive Program. In October 2018, She proudly participated in the Baryshnikov Arts Center’s Annual Fall Fête 2018 Art Auction. In 2021, Kamiesha exhibited her works in three group shows: Driven to Abstraction, Long-Sharp Gallery, Indianapolis, Indiana; Truth Be Told, ArtLeadHER Foundation, Urban Zen in the West Village and Collision, New Collectors Gallery, NYC. Kamiesha is currently pursuing an MFA graduate degree in Fine Arts Painting at The School of Visual Arts (SVA) in New York, expected to graduate in May 2022.