Madhurima Ganguly
Painter & Sculptor
Madhurima Ganguly is an Indian-American painter and sculptor based in Canton, MI. Her work deals with gender identity, social stigma, and migration.
Before immigrating to the U.S., she had an art career in India as a teacher, gallery manager, and stage designer. After moving to the U.S., she found herself at a creative crossroads and had to restart her whole artistic career. Now, she balances her art practice while working full-time as a Bengali translator and being a mom. Her ceaseless dedication to her craft has proved successful: so far, she’s had two solo shows and group exhibitions.
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This interview was edited for length & clarity. It took place on March 18, 2025.
Q: Tell me about your journey to becoming an artist.
MG: I never remember wanting to be anything but an artist. I was born in Calcutta, India. I learned Indian classical vocal music and dance from a young age (in Indian culture, it’s a basic thing every girl does). That was how I fell in love with art. But I didn’t like singing in front of people so I chose visual art instead.
My family was very supportive of my art dreams. When I was in 5th grade, I won a big art competition and got to have lunch with the president of India. Accomplishments like these helped me see art as something I was good at. Throughout my life, I’ve also had really great teachers. They were the ones who encouraged me to choose a career in art — it’s very extraordinary, I don’t know anyone else who’s had teachers support them to that extent.
I went to art school for college. I applied 3 times and got in on my third try. I studied sculpture in undergrad and masters and minored in painting. Post-grad, I had a big art community and was involved in a bit of everything. I worked as a gallery manager, teacher, and stage designer.
Q: How did moving to the U.S. impact your art practice?
MG: My current artistic style very much mirrors my immigration journey. After me and my husband got married, me we moved to San Diego. At first, it was a lot of butterflies and happy things: just got married, new country, new friends. I spent a lot of time making new friends and understanding the U.S., not making art.
Then, we moved to Ann Arbor. When we were in San Diego, I thought: "This is fun, we’ll go back to India one day." I didn’t go back to school in the U.S. because I always thought we were going back. But when we moved to Michigan, I realized: we’re here to stay. For the first time it hit me: the distance between me and my home country. I left everything behind in India: my art, my career, my community. I realized: I’m always running and moving — when will I settle down? Moving to Michigan, I didn’t have any friends and had to start over again.
At the time, I was also struggling with infertility. That’s when the fear, anxiety, and loneliness hit me. I put all the complex feelings I had into my art. Back in India, I chose sculpting because I liked the physicality of it. When I moved to the U.S., at first, I didn’t have enough physical studio space for sculpting so I switched to painting.
Eventually, I developed my own style. Now, when I paint, it’s the only time I can be myself. There’s not just one emotion, but many feelings. It’s a healthy way for me to channel my emotions because I’m not arguing with a person and because I’m creating out of such intense emotions, the work itself carries that charge.
"When I paint, it's the only time I can be myself."
Body Mushroom, Madhurima Ganguly (2024)
Garden of Eves, Madhurima Ganguly (2024)
Freedom, Madhurima Ganguly (2019)
Death in Body, Madhurima Ganguly (2023)
Q: What's your process like?
MG: Initially, when I first moved to the U.S., I used to wait for that “spark” to create. I wasn’t in my normal routine and practice of making art. But now that I’ve adjusted, I’ve gotten into the practice of making art every day. I’m constantly looking around me for inspiration — whether it’s a leaf, a social issue in the news, or a nice pattern on someone’s dress — I’ll put all that on my canvas.
Q: What's a typical day in the life like?
MG: I have a full-time job as a Bengali interpreter. I get up at 5:30am because my shift is from 6AM - 2:30, Tuesday to Saturday. I work from home taking calls. In between calls, I make art. Because a call can come at anytime, I can’t move around and do large-scale work, so I do a lot of small-scale 9x12 paintings I can do at my desk. It’s like my journal and a nice stress reliever to kill time.
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If I have a show or exhibition coming up, after my day job, I’ll go into my studio and work. If I’m not working in my studio, I’m picking up my daughter from school. In the evening, like any Asian household, I enjoy cooking. I go to bed by 8:30.
In between being a mother and wife, my art is my sacred space I go to where I can be myself: I can cry, I can be anything I want. I’m very lucky to have a wonderful husband who helps take care of our daughter and understands I need time for my art.
Q: What lessons have you learned throughout your career?
MG: Two things:
1) Always keep working. When I was doing my masters in India, I spent a lot of time socializing and networking. Then, an older advisor said to me “I can give you 3 shows right now. But do you have enough work to fill a gallery? If not, then first think about making the work, then socializing.” That really impacted me and still guides me today. If you keep working, your work can guide you. That’s why it’s an art practice. We don’t know what the next step might be. It takes a long time to develop a signature style.
That being said —
2) Have a good creative community. We’re not just artists, we also have other passions: music listener, chef, etc. You need a balance where sometimes it’s just you but at other times you need a good community where you can exchange ideas and be inspired.
Madhurima Ganguly at Hatch art gallery
Q: How do you find and build community?
MG: At first, when I came to the U.S., it was difficult. But the moment I started to make art, doors opened one after the other. In Ann Arbor, I found a MeetUp group that did a sketch club every Sunday at Common Cup and started going every week. I was the only “artist” in the group — at first, I had some pride like: “I’m the artist, they’re not.” But when I actually showed up, I felt so humble: I admired them for how committed they were to give time to their art even though they were in other professions. We ended up doing a group show at Common Cup.
From there, I just applied to every gallery opportunity I could. I kept making work, doing group shows. As I was doing my daily art practice and getting more confident, the moment I had a lot of work, in 2018, I got a message from River House Arts (the gallery that represents me now) — they wanted me to do a solo show. Since then, I haven’t applied to any galleries.
Q: How do you define success?
MG: Success is how far I’ve come. I’ve had two solo shows and multiple prestigious shows, but at the same time, it’s not prestigious at all when you think of all the best awards or galleries. But when I think about where I came from — my family, my schooling, the fact that I didn’t grow up speaking English — I see that I’m extremely successful. If you compare me to another artist, I might not be successful — but that’s irrelevant. What matters is that I'm successful to myself.
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When I got my first solo show, I was like “Oh my gosh, my first solo show!” But after, I was like: What’s next? There’s no end to it. You will have your big moments of achievement and you should relish them, but the next day you’ll have to move on. Being successful is about what you feel in your mind. The fact that I have a house, a beautiful family, my health, and people in my community know me by name — that is success for me.
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Success is where you create your home and community. That’s what I want to teach my daughter: it doesn’t matter what school she goes to or what job she gets, but success is the ability to create something from scratch and make a home in any context.
Q: What does being an Asian-American artist mean to you?
MG: I grew up reading and seeing a lot of white, European art. Even in India, I didn’t see that much Asian or Asian American art represented. The world still sees much of history and art history through Western eyes. As if as soon as Western Art puts a seal on something, then it becomes good, even if that same thing was done in Africa or Asia for a long time. As an Asian American artist, I intentionally use motifs that are very culturally rooted to start a conversation and build cultural bridges.
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I will say — I am where I am only because I’m in America. It’s the love and passion for community building here that’s made such a difference for me. Most of the people here are immigrants, either first or second gen. They know the pain of not being with family, so they welcome you with open arms. If I were back in India, I think I would’ve gotten too comfortable and complacent with my own friends and family. But now that I’m here, I have a zeal to prove myself. I won’t let any opportunity pass me by.
Q: What's your advice for aspiring artists?
MG: One thing that took me a long time to learn is to have compassion on yourself. Give yourself a chance to learn and keep doing the thing. Any profession takes time. You could be an instant star on Instagram or go viral, but what’s the long-term goal?
As an Indian eldest daughter, I was always told to be a good girl, to bring respect to the family, but I wish I had learned how to love myself first. If I love myself, I can love others. My creativity comes from within, and love is very related to creativity, so that’s why loving yourself is so important.