Like many married couples, we often spend time reflecting and sharing what happened during the day. Keerthana Jhutty always seems to have a way more interesting day than me. She is always doing so many creative activities, it is mind-boggling; my mind gets boggled. Am I jealous? Yes. Is she great? Maybe. One of these days, which was a highlight, was when she flew back from Toronto after her art show. She brought back some artwork, and I can never figure out her taste. She’s an enigma. I work in a technical field as a mechanical engineer, so I’m all about technical mastery. Sometimes she brings back artwork which should belong in the trash (in my opinion). Why does she do this? As an artist, shouldn’t she be more interested in the technical skills of being an artist? And then I realized, after picking her brain for a number of years, she’s not only an artist in the technical sense; she’s interested in the idea. And I’ve grown to appreciate her ability to make paintings that are more than just technically amazing.
-Written by her husband
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Which ’hood are you in?
I live in Strathmore, Alberta, sometimes known as “S’more.” It is a small town an hour east of Calgary. Although I’ve lived in many places in the past, including India and Australia, this is my home now.
What do you do?
For my day job, I work as a Manager in Technology Consulting. Like my husband, I also studied Mechanical Engineering but have since pivoted to working in software after trying to decipher the ancient Indian Indus script using Machine Learning and Statistics. (I didn’t decipher it, but my current company was impressed enough to offer me a role.) I also met some really cool archaeologists and linguists in the process.
Other than that, I am a visual artist. My preferred medium is oil painting on board, though I am increasingly using dry media like charcoal and soft pastels in my practice. I studied oil painting, printmaking, colour theory, and figure drawing at the McMichael Art Gallery, the Alberta University of the Arts, and with practicing artists. I have exhibited at art fairs, including the Toronto Outdoor Art Fair, as well as in juried and group exhibitions (my latest was a group exhibition at LL Contemporary in Ontario). My work has been featured in CBC Arts and, most recently, at the Art with Heart auction in Toronto, where my piece “Tryst with Destiny” was sponsored by the Shevlen Family Foundation.
What are you currently working on?
I am currently working on a series about personal histories: the stories that we carry and the fragments that we misremember. I grew up with stories, and I am drawn to them in my practice. I am interested in studying broader historical forces through the perspectives and experiences of individual people.
I collect these histories through conversations with people open to sharing their stories with me. I am complementing this research by reading history and learning more about how people think through philosophy, psychoanalysis, and sociology.
If you are open to sharing your story with me, please email me at keetu.jk@gmail.com. I have a list of questions that I will use to begin the conversation.
Where can we find your work?
You can find my work at my studio in Strathmore, online on my website, the Toronto Outdoor Art Fair Artist Gallery, or printed in the publication “Unframed: Canadian Immigrant Artists Anthology,” available in Indigo.
If you are in the area and would like to see my pieces in person, book a studio visit with me through this link.
