PURVI SHAH

Purvi Shah (b. 1989) is a South Asian artist and writer based in Houston, Texas whose practice examines the complexities of bi-cultural and diasporic identity. Drawing from her Indian upbringing, Shah’s work explores the visual and symbolic language of tradition through a contemporary lens.

Rooted in personal and collective moments of joy, loss, transition, and reflection, Shah’s practice is deeply introspective. Her current body of work channels her love for the intricate borders of traditional garments and the delicate fluidity of henna patterns — both long associated with auspiciousness, celebration, and positive energy. She reinterprets the motifs through her modern compositions, merging cultural memory with contemporary expression into a textured foundation.

Shah’s deliberate structural choice to mount a secondary canvas symbolizes the duality inherent in immigrant and diasporic experience. The interaction reflects two coexisting worlds: the cultural memory that anchors her, and the lived reality that shapes her present. Their alignment, tension, and harmony mirror the negotiations of belonging that define a life lived between different cultures.

Her work invites viewers into a space that honors imperfection, continuity, and the evolving nature of identity..