Everything has a story, if you’re curious enough.

Hi, I’m Riya - a self-taught artist based in Delhi. My creative knick knacks started about 2 decades ago, but professionally, I have been practicing my work full-time since 2024. I paint to express excitement, subtle humor, sometimes with a touch of sweet, harmless rebellion. Maybe that is why I hardly look at things the way they are and create my own stories around it. Art Experts call it ‘Surrealism’, but I prefer calling it ‘bold enough to find whimsy in ordinary things.’

As a kid, I always found immense joy in decorating everything. My notebooks & water bottle used to be filled with stickers and doodles. Every corner of my room was covered in little DIY experiments.

We’re brought up by nature & nurture, and I like to believe that it was my nature to pick-up and collect little things that held memories for me. My biggest flex when I was 11 - A MATCHBOX COLLECTION. I had collected some 40 matchboxes, literally maachis ke dabbe, just for the sake of those funky colours and illustrations.

One would think, knowing me as a child, that I would only grow up to be an artist. That I did.

As for my art? I paint pop surreal pieces with acrylics on canvases. Much like my childhood, I add dramatic twists to mundane things. One of my original collections from 2026 called ‘Chingaari Strikes Back’ is an ode to the long lost art form of matchboxes. I like my art to reflect whimsy, wit, and quiet observation of the little things most people overlook.

Simply a way of keeping wonder alive.