Shyama Golden

I started oil painting at the age of 12, but after getting a BFA in graphic design, I spent a decade as a designer and illustrator, during which time I exhibited my paintings sporadically. By 2020 my focus had shifted to a full-time commitment to painting. Despite the lack of traditional artistic mentorship early on, I found a lot of pleasure in design, and many of the skills and sensitivities I picked up along the way improved my painting in unexpected ways. The path I’ve taken has led me to the development of a narrative visual language which continues to evolve over time.

I am based in Los Angeles, and my current works populate a parallel dimension with a cast of characters that include vine-covered trees suggestive of human archetypes, Sri Lankan devil dancers dressed as Yakkas who take part in exorcist rituals, and self-portraiture. The work is intended to appear theatrical, reflecting an awareness of the social performance necessitated by our relationships with each other and the drama of everyday life.

In recent years I have been a guest speaker at NYU, RIT, Texas Tech University and MICA and on the jury for The One Club for Creativity: Young Guns.

I have been profiled in Jasmin Hernandez's 2020 Book We Are Here, Visionaries of Color Transforming the Art World, and Victionary's 2019 Book DesignHers, A Celebration of Women in Design Today.

My work has been featured on covers for The New York Times, LA Times, and Netflix Queue, as well as various book covers such as Shruti Swamy’s Archer, Fatimah Asghar’s If They Come for Us, Akweke Emezi’s PET and BITTER and in films such as LITTLE, Fletch, and Boxing Day. I have exhibited my paintings at The Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Sri Lanka, Jeffrey Deitch Gallery in NYC and LA, Micki Meng Gallery in SF, Swivel Gallery in Brooklyn, NY, and Trotter & Sholer in NYC.