Shobha’s life began in India. At age two, she moved with her family from India to Oregon. One of Shobha’s earliest memories is of Mumbai’s outdoor markets and trips to the hill towns in Kashmir—where she was mesmerized by the layers of color, costumes and constructions during her visits back to see family. This visual experience stuck with her and has informed, both consciously and subconsciously, her art work.
During her early childhood, her family spent weekends camping in remote areas of Oregon. For Shobha, nature provides a “home” which is an inclusive, anchoring space. Her time outdoors has strengthened her appreciation for beauty, natural layering and juxtaposition of color and patterns.
Shobha’s deep interest in art developed in parallel with her academic training at Williams College where she majored in Chemistry and Environmental studies. While at Williams, she studied studio art and art history which sparked and informed her artistic instincts that she continued to nourish in parallel with her later work as a Dermatologist. Science and nature inform her artistic expression.
The practices of art and dermatology have many similarities. They are both visual fields; color and light shape the visual perception of the surface; and patterning informs the viewer of underlying health and meaning.
Shobha has exhibited her work in both solo and group shows in Oregon. She works fulltime out of her studio in the NW Marine Ironworks building. Her work is included in public collections at the Multnomah County Portable Artworks Collection, Oregon State University and the City of Portland’s Vanport building. She has been awarded a Catalyst and Make, Learn and Build Grant from the RACC. Shobha was a featured Artist/Speaker for the OHSU Diversity and Inclusion program, 2022. She coordinated with the Jordan Schnitzer Art Museum, PSU and the Department of Dermatology at OHSU to present a workshop on the art of Observation and compassion for students, residents and faculty in 2022. She has participated in the Sitka Art and Ecology Residency as a Ford Family foundation Golden Spot Award, the Centrum Artist Residency in Washingtion (2018, 2019) and has been accepted for a 2024 residency at the Chateau Orquiveax, France.
Her art reflects a life of dualities –art and science and the bridging of two cultures. There is no place she would rather be.
SHOBHA JETMALANI
Selected Exhibitions
2024 Lake Oswego Reads Invitational Art Exhibition and Traveling Show
2024 Hampton Inn & Suites, Pearl District, Portland, Oregon Exhibition
2023 Greenbelt & Crystal Clear Water, Art at the Cave Gallery, Vancouver, WA
2023 Art About Agriculture, Giustina Gallery, OSU, Corvallis; Rogue Vallery & Art Center, Medford, OR; Portland’5 Center for theArts, Portland, OR
2022 REemergence, Dee Denton Gallery, Lake Oswego, Invitational, Featured Artist
2021 UVA Artworks Northwest Biennial Exhibit, Roseburg, OR, juried selection
2021 Art About Agriculture Competition and Touring Exhibition, Giustina Gallery, OSU, Corvallis, and Parrish Gallery, Newberg, OR, juried selection
2021 Robin Becic Gallery, Guest Artist, Portland, OR
2021 Small Works, Big Show, Mel’s Frame Shop and Gallery, Portland, OR
2021 Solo Show, Equilibrium Medical Office, Portland, OR
2020 Solo Show, Layers, Mel’s Frame Shop and Gallery, Portland, OR
2019 Lakewood Center for the Arts, Juried Show, Lake Oswego, OR
2019 Lake Oswego Festival of the Arts
2018 Finding Moments in the Landscape, Chapel Gallery, First Presbyterian Church, Portland, OR
2018 Holiday Travel Show, Mel’s Frame Shop and Gallery, Portland, OR
2018 Oregon Society of Artists Fall Juried Show, Portland, OR
2018 Multnomah Athletic Club Exhibition, Portland, OR (2017, 2016)
2018 Wild Arts Festival, Portland Audubon Society, Portland, OR (2017)
Awards
2024 Ford Family Foundation Golden Spot Award for Sitka Artist Residency
2023 Art3C Grant Recipient, RACC
2021 Make, Learn and Build Grant Recipient, RACC
2019 Catalyst Grant Recipient, RACC
2019 Blue Ribbon, Lake Oswego Festival of the Arts
2018 Second in Show, Oregon Society of Artists, Fall Juried Show
2016 Painting/Drawing Prize, PCC Rock Creek
Public Collections
2023 Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR
2022 Multnomah County Portable Artworks Collection, Portland, OR
2021 City of Portland, Vanport Building
2019 Multnomah County Portable Artworks Collection, Portland, OR
Residencies
2024 Sitka Art and Ecology, Otis, Oregon
2024 Upcoming Residency, Chateau d’Orquevaux, France
2019 Centrum Residency, Port Townsend, WA
2018 Centrum Residency, Port Townsend, WA
Presentations/Arts Administration
2024 Juror, Oregon State University, Art About Agriculture Show
2024 Nestucca K-8 School, Student workshop and school installation; Sindhi textile design on Saris
2022 Panel Reviewer, City of Portland Urgency/Stability for Artist Grant program
2022 Art, Observation and Compassion, Dept. of Dermatology, OHSU and Jordan Schnitzer Museum PSU
2022 Diversity Awareness Thru Arts and Culture, Speaker, OHSU, Portland OR
2022 Community Panel Reviewer, Make Learn Build Grants, RACC
Education
1991 Dermatology Residency, OHSU, Portland, OR
1987 Doctorate of Medicine, OHSU, Portland, OR
1981 Bachelor of Arts, Williams College, Williamstown, MA
1977 Attended Willamette University, Portland, OR, transferred to Williams 1979