Pia Sawhney is an artist based in New York City. As a photorealist painter, Sawhney’s primary interest is found in digital painting wherein the artist employs subtle details that distinguish digital painting from digital photography. In the selection of paintings featured here, the artist embellishes objects that are quickly disposed of, if not consumed. By using food as her primary subject matter, Pia Sawhney establishes a metaphor between personal habit and excess.

The pastel hues that appear throughout the artist’s representations soften the impact of mundane realism as a means to evoke an array of personal association. The depictions of a fried egg, lollipop, tomatoes, lettuce and other condiments, for instance, are immediately distracting since the subject is removed from a contextual still-life setting. But the lack of context is what Pia Sawhney is after as the isolation of these seemingly edible fragments force one to establish context since direct access is also prevented by the image.

Pia Sawhney holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from New York University and was also a student of drawing. In 2015 Sawhney designed pieces for Kanika Goyal’s Bio:Sonic collection that appeared in Lakme Fashion Week. In 2016 the artist’s work was presented in “Drawing Showcase” presented by the Greenpoint Gallery, located in Brooklyn, New York. Pia Sawhney also participated in an online exhibition titled “Black and White” that was hosted by Colors of Humanity in July 2016 and then in another group exhibition titled “We The People” at Arc Gallery in Chicago Illinois. In June 2017 Sawhney received a solo exhibition at Greenpoint Gallery, followed by presentation at the Amsterdam Art Fair in August. Studio Visit Magazine introduced Pia Sawhney’s work in its 2016-2017 Winter Issue. In 2018 Parasol Projects featured the artist’s most dynamic installation titled “American Dream, Room 2018”. Paintings from Pia Sawhney’s “Burger Exposed”-series were given a solo show on Artsy from May to June 2018. In 2019, her art was also included in Art Los Angeles Contemporary that was hosted by Artsy and presented by Artists Studios Projects.