Ragni Agarwal is an Indian-American artist based in Los Angeles. Her vibrant pieces, feature confident, graceful women, and act as love letters to the women who helped her survive. "I wouldn't be around if it wasn't for them," shared Agarwal when we met at Ten Women Gallery in Santa Monica, a cooperative gallery for women artists where she is a member.
Agarwal was drawn to the arts from a young age and it became her safe haven, especially during bouts of anxiety and depression through her childhood. After college, she worked at startups as a graphic designer and had mostly lost touch with her personal art practice. "I was doing all the things I thought you were supposed to, but I was really unhappy," shared Agarwal. "There was a week where I just couldn't get out of bed, so I started illustrating on my laptop and ended up posting an illustration [on Instagram] for 30 days straight."
Agarwal's illustrations, ranging from mental health posts to fashion inspired to random doodles, started resonating with people immediately. At the end of her first 30-day project, she started a second. Soon, she began receiving requests to buy her art or commissions, allowing her to spend more time focused on the work that fed her mind and soul.
Over the past five years, Agarwal has come into her own as an artist. Her work focuses on themes of female empowerment, body positivity, beauty, hope, and pure joy, shattering cultural norms in the process. Her bold, saturated color palette is the connective tissue in her work. "A lot of my art began when I was feeling dark and sad. Color was my therapy; it helped me come out of those dark places."
One of her most meaningful collections, "Badtameez Betis" (Bad Girls or Ill-Mannered Daughters), was recently shown at The Other Art Fair in London. The collection represents misfits, like the artist, who were often told they were "bad" because they didn't abide by society's expectations. Agarwal's work is a homage to these women and a call to action to reclaim their power. Badtameez Betis also touches on the Agarwal’s deeper goal. Her vision is to create a safe space for girls and women to celebrate the strength and bond of female relationships that are so vital and sacred. She wants to have a place for young girls where they can "make art, dance, and learn to feel empowered and confident." Reflecting on her own journey, something like this would have been incredible for her in those early, formative years.
These days, with the impossible standards set by social media for women, especially young women, and the death of teen girl culture, I think we can all agree that we need more Badtameez Betis out there.
Thanks, Ragni, for sharing your story, vision, and art with us! You can purchase her prints at RagniAgarwal.com and follow her on Instagram at @ragni_agarwal_
Beautiful! I have found that surrounding myself with color brings me joy so it was lovely to learn that the use of color in her work was therapeutic for Ragni.