On view now until 24 January at Art2Muse Gallery
Since opening on 13 January, Primordial Pulse by Neena Mand (practising as Neena atMA) has been quietly resonating with visitors at Art2Muse Gallery. Through a contemplative body of abstract works spanning Creator, Creation, and Continuum, the exhibition offers not just paintings, but an experience of pause, reflection, and connection.
Audience responses have echoed this sense of depth and attentiveness:
“Beautiful work… so much depth and definitely something that makes me see something new each time.”
(Visitor response)
Others describe a powerful emotional and sensory impact:
“It was a very calming and relaxing experience. Your paintings give me a sense of calmness that allows the mind to clear.” (GG)
From Architecture to Intuition
Neena Mand’s journey into painting is grounded in a rich background in architecture and academia, where systems, structure, and problem-solving once dominated her creative thinking. Painting, however, opened a different register – one led by intuition rather than resolution.
What might appear as a career shift is, for the artist, a natural progression. Architectural thinking still underpins the work, evident in the geometry, spatial logic, and precision that many viewers have noted:
“The three-dimensional care, precision, colour and tone – you are a real original… balance and geometry really stand out.” (JA)
Yet unlike architecture, these paintings allow uncertainty to remain unresolved. They hold inquiry in suspension, inviting viewers to slow down and remain present.
Abstraction Shaped by Culture, Land, and Memory
As an artist of Indian heritage living and working in Australia, Neena’s cultural influences surface through orientation rather than symbolism. Indian philosophical ideas of cyclical becoming, continuity, and relational existence subtly inform the work, while abstraction keeps imagery open and non-prescriptive.
Living on Dharug land near the Hawkesbury River has further shaped the artist’s sensibility. Water appears not as scenery, but as a living, sentient presence – shifting, reflective, and continuous. These layered influences – architecture, migration, cultural memory, and Australian landscape – intersect within the works without hierarchy.
One visitor reflected on this layered complexity:
“The blend of organic shapes and straight lines reminds me of what may be lurking beneath the forms we see in nature… unseen strings holding it all together.”
(LM)
Creation as Ongoing Process
Central to Primordial Pulse is the idea that creation is never complete. Identity, belonging, and meaning are continuously formed and re-formed. This philosophy, explored in the artist’s earlier academic research and aligned with both Indian thought and contemporary science, finds visual expression throughout the exhibition.
The works are not endpoints, but moments of emergence.
“Your work is really moving… your talent is shining like the gold you use.” (EM)
Dhvanic Abstraction: Meaning Through Resonance
At the heart of Neena’s practice is Dhvanic Abstraction, inspired by the Indian aesthetic principle of dhvani – suggestion rather than declaration. Meaning is not imposed, but arises through encounter.
This openness has allowed visitors to engage deeply and personally:
“Absolutely inspirational… very gestural and insightful pieces. I love how the work reveals how you think and care.” (NN)
The viewer becomes a co-creator, completing the work through their own lived experience.
Stillness in an Accelerated World
Many visitors describe the exhibition as calming, grounding, and meditative. Drawing on the Japanese concept of ma – the space between – the artist creates room for stillness without disengagement.
“Loved Creation 3 – a sense of movement yet centredness, like sitting by the ocean.”
(GG)
The works do not ask viewers to stop thinking, but to notice how they are thinking and feeling.
An Invitation Before It Closes
As Primordial Pulse enters its final days, the exhibition continues to invite audiences – whether seasoned art-goers or newcomers to abstraction – to spend time, move slowly, and trust their own responses.
“Beautiful work… something I look forward to seeing every day in our home.” (JR)
Photography: Exhibition – Art2Muse and Jahan Mand
Portraits and Artwork – Andrew Ratter
Exhibition Details
Primordial Pulse
Neena Mand (practising as Neena atMA)
Art2Muse Gallery
13–24 January 2026
