Alpana Vij’s practice reflects the cycles of decay, regeneration, and transformation, often inspired by Kintsugi, the Japanese art of repairing broken objects with gold leaf, and Buddhist concepts of shunyata, or nothingness. Working across mediums including found objects, dried organic materials, and textured surfaces, she draws attention to the beauty in fragility and the traces of life within natural processes.
Her recent work ‘And still they rise’ (2025), is an installation crafted from dried leaves, brass pins, and 24k gold thread. The work, evolving from her mended leaves series, invites contemplation on the beauty of the ordinary and the fragility inherent in life. By repurposing fallen leaves gathered during her daily walks, Alpana examines themes of adaptation, environmental change, and the need for greater care of the natural world.
Her wider body of work uses meticulous techniques to explore how nature’s imperfections are signposts of resilience, with recent installations and sculptures blending organic textures and abstract forms to evoke a sense of meditative reflection and renewal.
Alpana earned her MFA from LASALLE College of the Arts, Singapore/Goldsmiths University of London (2017) and her BFA from the College of Art, New Delhi (1991).