Sneha Gindodiya

How has your journey from engineering to art shaped your current creative practice?

My journey from engineering to art has never been just about shifting careers; it’s been about moving through different dimensions of myself—tangible and intangible. Aerospace engineering taught me structure, precision, and discipline, but over time I realized that numbers could not contain the emotions, questions, and stories I carried within. The transition into art was as much emotional, psychological, and spiritual as it was professional.

Art became the language through which I could finally honor my inner world—my observations, my sensitivity, my quiet strength. What began as a gradual call has now become a way of life, where I balance the methodical lens of an engineer with the freedom of an artist. In every piece, I see not just paint on canvas but echoes of my own evolution, layer by layer.

Sneha Gindodiya | Uns A Muhabbat | 2024

Growing up in Maharashtra and now living in California—how have these cultural environments influenced your work?

My journey spans many places, each leaving its own imprint on me. I was born in Maharashtra, spent my early years in Gujarat, studied in the hills of Nainital through high school, and later moved to South India for my first year of undergraduate studies before completing my degree in Chicago. An internship took me to Michigan, and now California has become home. Each environment brought something different—Maharashtra and Gujarat gave me a foundation in cultural richness, Nainital nurtured my sensitivity to nature and introspection, Chicago broadened my worldview, and California gave me the space and courage to embrace art fully.

Alongside these physical moves, I’ve also been traveling spiritually and psychologically. As an avid reader and someone deeply curious about people’s life stories, I find myself drawn into inner worlds that are as influential as physical landscapes. These journeys—both lived and imagined—flow into my work, shaping narratives that are layered with heritage, human psychology, and universal emotion.

Sneha Gindodiya | Mohini | 2024

You describe yourself as a reserved and observant child. How does that early sensitivity continue to manifest in your art today?

My reserved nature, which once felt like quietness, has in fact become one of my greatest strengths as an artist. From a young age, I learned to notice what often goes unseen—the subtleties of expression, the way light shifts across a surface, or the emotions hidden between words. What others might overlook, I tend to hold onto and translate into my work.

That sensitivity still guides my practice today. My paintings are built from these quiet observations, infused with details that encourage viewers to pause and look deeper. In many ways, what I once experienced as silence has become the very foundation of my artistic voice—a way of seeing and celebrating the beauty in subtleties that most people pass by.

Sneha Gindodiya | Manchali | 2024

Tell us more about your fascination with Mughal paintings and how they inspire your style.

I’ve always been fascinated by how, in earlier times, artists and craftspeople developed such detailed processes without the advantages of modern technology—yet they created works of breathtaking beauty, refinement, and endurance. That quiet strength and dedication speaks to me deeply. It makes me pause and imagine the everyday lives of people in that era, how much patience and devotion went into every brushstroke, carving, or woven pattern.

This is why I’m drawn to Persian and Mughal traditions—their rugs, textiles, and motifs carry not only visual richness but also layers of cultural memory and human resilience. In my own practice, I reinterpret that influence: intricate detailing, ornamental motifs, and layered textures find their way into my work, but always through a contemporary lens. These traditions don’t just inspire my style; they remind me of the timeless human desire to create beauty that transcends its moment.

Sneha Gindodiya | Charusheela | 2024

Femininity is a recurring theme in your portfolio. What aspects of womanhood do you aim to celebrate or explore in your art?

For me, exploring femininity through art has been deeply personal—more of a journey to discover and define what it means for me as a woman. The women in my work are not just symbolic figures; they often feel like extensions or fragments of myself. Each portrait carries layers of my own experiences, emotions, and quiet strength.

I often return to the thought: “As I paint layer by layer, am I revealing myself?” That process of layering mirrors the unfolding of womanhood—its resilience, vulnerability, grace, and complexity. Through my art, I honor these multifaceted dimensions, celebrating both the universality of feminine strength and the intimate truths of my own becoming.

Sneha Gindodiya | Benazir | 2024

To what extent do people overlook beauty in their everyday lives, and how do you hope your work changes that?

I think people often take things—and even people—at face value, without pausing to look deeper, to truly know them at a soul level. Beauty isn’t just in what meets the eye, it’s in the quiet details, the emotions beneath the surface, and the layers of stories that shape someone or something. Too often, that depth goes unseen.

My work invites people to slow down and notice those subtleties. For example, in Dharohar, what first appears as a decorative rug dissolving into fragments is, on closer look, a meditation on cultural memory and resilience. In Benazir,  the stillness of a figure carries a quiet strength, asking the viewer to sit with silence and feel its power. By layering details, patterns, and emotions, I hope to create spaces where people not only see beauty but also connect with it—beyond the surface, at a more soulful level.

Sneha Gindodiya | Anarkali | 2024

How do you see your role as an artist today—bridging cultures, preserving traditions, or creating something entirely new?

I see my role as an artist as a witness and storyteller of my own journey—bridging the spaces I’ve traversed, preserving fleeting moments, and creating new forms of understanding. My work is autobiographical, a layering of experiences, emotions, and places that have shaped me. Each piece is an exploration, a way of revealing who I am, piece by piece, through color, texture, and form. It is not just a reflection of the world I’ve seen, but a map of my inner world—intimate, evolving, and deeply personal—inviting others to connect, feel, and see the layers beneath the surface.