In my art practice, I create self-portraits across various mediums, delving into themes of philosophy, mysticism, and confronting inner demons. My work generates hyper-icons—deeply personal interpretations of philosophers and memories, often veering towards commemoration, inspired by W.J.T. Mitchell. I employ expressionist and detailed drawings using pen and ink, colored pencils, graphite, and dry pastels. Additionally, I incorporate strips of text through collage, photograph found objects, and use performance to pose existential inquiries such as: What is utopia? What is time, and how can it be represented? What is the significance of text and its impact on us? What defines one’s memory?

Born in Bombay and raised in Bahrain in a family of coffin makers from Mangalore, I faced a traumatic event and cultural displacement that deeply shaped me. Despite early aspirations to become a Catholic monk, I returned to India and pursued my education in art history, completing my undergrad in Bangalore in 2009 and a Master's degree at Kala Bhavan Shantiniketan in 2012. My influences stem from detective fiction, comics, and art books, blending historical and philosophical insights into my teaching and art. My residency in Japan, learning Sumi ink, significantly influenced my current practice, embracing Stoicism and Zen philosophy.

Clyde D’Mello is an Indian artist currently based in Boston. He was born in Mumbai, India and grew up in Bahrain. As a child he aspired to be a catholic priest but, was drawn to fine arts. In 2002, he moved to Bangalore, India for further education. Here, he graduated from the College of Fine Arts in 2009, majoring in Art History. His thesis exhibition was titled “A toast to Barf” where he used photography and the written word.

He took a year off and focused on photography. During this time, he was featured in Rolling Stone magazine for his work with the now-disbanded band Slain.

In 2012, he graduated with a Masters in History of Art and Painting from Viswa-Bharati University, where his dissertation was on “Representation of political violence in Indian graphic novels”.

He developed his practice in pen and ink drawings from here. He got his first art residency in New Delhi at Arts 4 All. After this, he moved back to Bangalore and worked full-time at the Asian Institute of Design for four years.

In 2016, he won the Young Talent Program and had his first solo exhibition at Alliance Francaise de Bangalore. In 2017, he won the Abiko Open AIR at Chiba Prefecture, Japan. There, he learned to use Sumi ink, which became an important part of his practice. On returning from Japan, he quit his full-time job and started teaching part-time at NIFT ( Bangalore ) and PES University from 2017 to 2023.

He established the HAND collective, a mentorship program to help design students establish an art practice. He also worked on commissions for a collector in Bangalore.

Clyde has experimented with mediums like color pencils, dry pastels, collage, and performance art. His second solo exhibition was “Clockwork of Dreams and Reality” at Time and Space Gallery, Bangalore in 2023.

Currently, He resides in New England (MA)

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