This ocean themed art will be displayed at the auction!!

JANAVI MAHIMTURA FOLMSBEE

I have moved between countries and cities to find my own space in this world and to hunt

for the universal connection among us. After crossing continents, this hunt propelled me to search in an element that physically connects us all – water. I started scuba diving in 2007.

When I dive, I am one with my breath and invited into a world of pure beauty where I am not judged but just encouraged to view and experience. My art is all about recreating that meditative understanding for the viewer. I scuba dive all over the world and get inspired from my diving expeditions.
My focus is marine life. I create ethereal, intricate shapes that I call characters that are meant to invite the public into this world and take the viewer into the moment that they originated from. My art installations transform a space and immerse one into this beauty through abstraction and realism. The works are interdisciplinary and I use a mixture of Oil paintings, video, sound, ceramics and large-scale public fine art murals to transform a space. The spatial relationship between the work and the viewer creates a sense of closeness to the marine world.

I am actively involved in the marine community by working with conservation organizations like Correa Lab of Rice University, NOAA (National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration), The Galveston Bay Foundation and Mar Alliance, with the hope of connecting the dots between marine conservation, science and art. Through abstraction and realism the work engages different audiences into understanding the hardships of our oceans. I believe with art, awareness and beauty, we as humans are capable of doing so much more for our oceans and our environment. Currently some of my work is focused on the marine sanctuary right off our bay of Texas.

Janavi M Folmsbee wants to live in a world where we can close our eyes and make all the plastic in the ocean disappear. Folmsbee was born in 1987 and raised in Mumbai, India. In 2005, she moved to the United States of America to study at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (S.A.I.C). As an artist, she has shown her work in India, Beijing, Europe, Dubai, and the U.S.A. Folmsbee’s works have been featured in international fairs like Kunst Rai, Art mRotterdam, The Indian contemporary art fair and in print media such as Harper’s Bazaar (Malaysia edition),The Times of India, the Houston Chronicle, and Houston Modern Luxury, Verve (India). Along with television interviews on ABC news , KRPC Houston ( local news) When Janavi is not in her studio
creating new work or off on a scuba diving adventure in an exciting location like the Maldives, Greece, Thailand, Egypt, Belize, or Turks and Caicos, she’s usually swimming, or writing fictional stories. Folmsbee currently works and lives in Houston. She has been creating large fine art murals throughout the city, which are iconic landmarks some even Poke Stations on Pokemon Go. At the moment, her current work continues to grow and evolve into a series related to marine conservation. Folmsbee works with Marine organizations such as Correa Lab of Rice University, Mar Alliance and the Coral restoration foundation to help the fight to preserve our oceans.

website at http://www.janavimfolmsbee.com.