Casey Kaplan
Kaveri Raina Delves Into Submerged Kingdoms and Elusive Narratives
By Shreya Ajmani | March 27, 2025
“I want viewers to challenge themselves, witness these paintings, and create their own imagined worlds,” says Kaveri Raina. Her vast, enigmatic canvases draw in viewers, inviting them to delve deeper into layers of meaning and emotion. In her solo exhibition Reflection as a Witness at Casey Kaplan, Raina explores submerged kingdoms and fractured narratives. Drawing inspiration from Anju Dodiya, Leon Golub, and Lee Lozano, her work captures raw emotion and unresolved struggles, urging audiences to engage with the shifting forms and colors that reflect both personal and universal turmoil.
Shreya Ajmani: Can you walk us through how you conceptualized and constructed the series shown in Reflection as a Witness at Casey Kaplan? ?
Kaveri Raina: I started working on this series in the fall of 2023 as a way to create imaginary, submerged kingdoms. There are three large works that I see as the main pillars, while the rest serve as mini or complementary pillars—pillars meaning support structures. I have always had an affinity for water since I was a child. My name, Kaveri, means river. This fascination reemerged when I visited India in December of 2023. Something about being submerged has always fascinated me—the idea of being underwater in a world I don’t have experience in. I wanted my work to reflect this, to almost feel like a film, with participants passing through momentarily and then fleeting away.
I was introduced to Anju Dodiya’s work in early 2024, and I loved how her paintings made me feel as if I was watching a film—like I was viewing a glimpse or section of a larger scene. The implications of what was outside the frame of the painting swirled in my mind.
These paintings feature new, unseen forms, characters, and participants, such as the fisherman/mermaid character. This figure changes colors, remains central to the narrative, and always relies on the bright yellow shape, also seen as a pillar for support. The mermaid figure is lifelike in scale, which was enabled by the larger size of these paintings. It is also a sensual figure at times, and almost has its back turned towards the viewer. The implication is that the viewer is glimpsing a fragmentary moment, like a still in a moving film.
There is also a recurring “ant” form, which at times resembles a cocoon. Sometimes it appears open, other times more closed. In one of the large paintings, it takes the shape of a fleshy pink form on the edge of the composition. I have painted this figure in the past as well, where it would appear as a darker, more somber, ant-like figure. This creature vibrates and circulates through the ground.
Each painting carries a specific narrative that I envision at the outset, but as I begin painting, the story evolves, often surprising me. I value this constant back-and-forth dialogue with the works. I want viewers to challenge themselves, witness these paintings, and create their own imagined worlds.