PICTORIAL FOUNDATION | PARVATHI KUMAR

PARVATHI KUMAR

Bridgewater NJ UNITED STATES

I was initially trained as a teenager by my mother in manual SLR film photography and gained formative darkroom experience in high school. Despite earning degrees in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and working in IT software development, my passion and obsession for photography over the last 35-plus years remained strong. In 2010, I became a full-time freelance photographer.

Largely self-taught, I have also taken workshops and courses over the years, continuing my education in the genre. My work includes fine art photography, documentary photography, commercial photography, including portraits and events, graphic design, and photobook design.

I am a published author, having created a series of portraits with supporting text entitled Everyday Blackness: Celebrating Exceptional Women, released in 2021. I have received multiple awards and international recognition in street photography and exhibit widely in group and solo shows throughout the United States and abroad. My favorite activity is simply to wander and observe, to compose and record candid moments in our collective journey through life.

My practice is a work in progress: being open, seeing without bias, discovering, and having the courage to fail. I never limit myself to a single mode of expression; instead, I experiment across genres — from street and documentary photography to mixed media and cyanotypes — to reveal different facets of my evolving creative journey and interests. Through study, experimentation, and a constant appreciation for the history of art, I pivot as needed, taking in what the world has to offer.

I consider myself a flâneuse. Whether I am navigating a city with a camera, in nature, in transit, or at my desk with paints, I simply follow my instincts, my desire to play, and constant "what if" curiosities. By embracing imperfections, the beauty of the unknown, and erasing the boundaries of the mind and its preconceived notions, I stay in a state of heightened awareness and flow. My process is the art of searching and allowing.

ARTWORKS

Everyday Blackness - Annette Scott (2020)

PARVATHI KUMAR

20H x 16W in (50 x 40 cm)
digital photograph
US $325

“Though the entire series in this project has 25 portraits reflecting various journeys and backgrounds of Exceptional Everyday Black Women, these eight images were chosen to represent all the qualities of the women celebrated in the project: courage, strength, intelligence, wisdom, warmth, resolve, grace, joy, and quiet determination.”

Everyday Blackness - Kristine Smith (2020)

PARVATHI KUMAR

20H x 16W in (50 x 40 cm)
digital photograph
US $325

“Though the entire series in this project has 25 portraits reflecting various journeys and backgrounds of Exceptional Everyday Black Women, these eight images were chosen to represent all the qualities of the women celebrated in the project: courage, strength, intelligence, wisdom, warmth, resolve, grace, joy, and quiet determination.”

Everyday Blackness - Barbara Flythe (2020)

PARVATHI KUMAR

20H x 16W in (50 x 40 cm)
digital photograph
US $325

“Though the entire series in this project has 25 portraits reflecting various journeys and backgrounds of Exceptional Everyday Black Women, these eight images were chosen to represent all the qualities of the women celebrated in the project: courage, strength, intelligence, wisdom, warmth, resolve, grace, joy, and quiet determination.”

Everyday Blackness - Kim Gaddy (2020)

PARVATHI KUMAR

20H x 16W in (50 x 40 cm)
digital photograph
US $325

“Though the entire series in this project has 25 portraits reflecting various journeys and backgrounds of Exceptional Everyday Black Women, these eight images were chosen to represent all the qualities of the women celebrated in the project: courage, strength, intelligence, wisdom, warmth, resolve, grace, joy, and quiet determination.”

Everyday Blackness - Morgan Johnson (2020)

PARVATHI KUMAR

20H x 16W in (50 x 40 cm)
digital photograph
US $325

“Though the entire series in this project has 25 portraits reflecting various journeys and backgrounds of Exceptional Everyday Black Women, these eight images were chosen to represent all the qualities of the women celebrated in the project: courage, strength, intelligence, wisdom, warmth, resolve, grace, joy, and quiet determination.”

Everyday Blackness - Pamela Ponce Johnson (2020)

PARVATHI KUMAR

20H x 16W in (50 x 40 cm)
digital photograph
US $325

“Though the entire series in this project has 25 portraits reflecting various journeys and backgrounds of Exceptional Everyday Black Women, these eight images were chosen to represent all the qualities of the women celebrated in the project: courage, strength, intelligence, wisdom, warmth, resolve, grace, joy, and quiet determination.”

Everyday Blackness - Tamiko Hubbard (2020)

PARVATHI KUMAR

20H x 16W in (50 x 40 cm)
digital photograph
US $325

“Though the entire series in this project has 25 portraits reflecting various journeys and backgrounds of Exceptional Everyday Black Women, these eight images were chosen to represent all the qualities of the women celebrated in the project: courage, strength, intelligence, wisdom, warmth, resolve, grace, joy, and quiet determination.”

Everyday Blackness - Tamiko Hubbard (2020)

PARVATHI KUMAR

20H x 16W in (50 x 40 cm)
digital photograph
US $325

“Though the entire series in this project has 25 portraits reflecting various journeys and backgrounds of Exceptional Everyday Black Women, these eight images were chosen to represent all the qualities of the women celebrated in the project: courage, strength, intelligence, wisdom, warmth, resolve, grace, joy, and quiet determination.”

FEATURES & EXHIBITIONS

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PARVATHI KUMAR

Bridgewater NJ UNITED STATES

ARTWORKS

FEATURES & EXHIBITIONS