(b. 1971)
Mithu Sen’s practice spans continents and contexts, occupying biennales, museums, galleries, and experimental spaces that challenge conventions and disrupt hierarchies. Her work has been presented at Sharjah Biennale 15 (2023); APT9 – 9th Asia Pacific Triennial (2018); Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg (2018); Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, New Delhi (2017); Guggenheim Museum, New York (2016); Unlimited, Art Basel (2016); Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum, Michigan (2014); Kochi-Muziris Biennale (2014); Dhaka Art Summit (2014); Tate Modern Project Space, London (2013); Zacheta National Gallery of Art, Warsaw (2011); and the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo (2008), among others.
Sen’s practice has been shaped and expanded through several significant international residencies. She was an artist-in-residence at the 18th Street Arts Center in Los Angeles (2017) and participated multiple times in the Khoj International Artist Residency in New Delhi (2003, 2011, 2015), a space pivotal to experimental contemporary practices in South Asia. Her engagements also include the NIROX Foundation Residency in South Africa (2012), the Awagami / MOMAT Residency at the National Museum of Modern Art in Tokyo (2008), and the UNESCO-Aschberg Bursary for Artists at the Sacatar Foundation in Brazil (2006). Earlier, in 2004, she was part of the Art Omi International Artist Residency in New York. Each of these residencies has contributed to her ongoing inquiries into cultural boundaries, linguistic ruptures, and performative resistance.
In 2023, she had a major survey show at ACCA, Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne. Sen is the recipient of several awards, including the Škoda Prize (2010) and the Prudential Eye Award for Contemporary Asian Art – Drawing (2015).