Bhavna Mehta (born 1968) is an Indian-American visual artist specializing in cut paper and embroidery. She has exhibited widely throughout Southern California and lives and works in San Diego, CA.

Early life

Mehta was born in

Ahmednagar Ahmednagar (), is a city located in the Ahmednagar district in the state of Maharashtra, India, about 120 km northeast of Pune and 114 km from Aurangabad. Ahmednagar takes its name from Ahmad Nizam Shah I, who founded the town in 1494 ...

, India. At age seven she contracted polio, which forced her into a wheelchair. She completed a B.A. in physics from

Ahmednagar College Ahmednagar College was founded in 1947 by B. P. Hivale with the support and co-operation of the American Marathi Mission, Bombay, the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, Boston, Minneapolis, Minnesota, William H. Danforth of ...

in 1987 and a M.S. in electronic science at University of Poona in 1989. At age 22, Mehta immigrated to the United States. In 1993, she earned a second master's degree, in computer science, from

California State University, Northridge California State University, Northridge (CSUN or Cal State Northridge) is a public university in the Northridge neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. With a total enrollment of 38,551 students (as of Fall 2021), it has the second largest un ...

. She began working as a software engineer for Nokia in San Diego. She married George Cunningham, another software engineer, in 2000. Laid off in 2006, she was soon hired by Motorola, but was laid off again in 2008. Having achieved a degree of financial security, she decided in 2008 to try a career as an artist. After exploring various media, she enrolled in a paper-cutting workshop led by paper artist

Béatrice Coron Béatrice Coron (b. 1956) is a French born American artist known for her public art installations and paper art. She attended the École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts de Lyon and the Jean Moulin University Lyon 3. In 2011 Coron delivered ...

at the Penland School of Crafts in North Carolina.

Solo exhibitions

* 2013 ''A Paper Garden'', Noel-Baza Fine Art, San Diego, CA * 2015 ''Gush'',

Oceanside Museum of Art Oceanside Museum of Art is a fine arts museum located at 704 Pier View Way, Oceanside, California in northern San Diego County, California. The museum began holding exhibits in 1995, with a dedicated facility opening on October 6, 1997. It is house ...

, Oceanside, CA * 2017 ''Once Upon a Body'', Art Produce, San Diego, CA * 2018 Leela - Portrait of a Woman in a Green Dress, Timken Museum of Art, San Diego, CA

Awards

* San Diego Art Prize, 2014 * Creative Catalyst Grant, San Diego Foundation, 2015 * Artists Activating Communities Grant, California Arts Council, 2016-2017

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mehta, Bhavna 1968 births Living people 21st-century American women artists Artists from San Diego Paper artists Indian emigrants to the United States California State University, Northridge alumni People from Ahmednagar