I am working on some very smart things to say here. Really. Meanwhile, there's 
Recently discovered the works of Raqib Shaw. Raqib Shaw was born in Culcutta, spent his youth in Kashmir and now lives and works in London.
There are conflicts at so many levels in Raqib Shaw's paintings that, as we look at it, we are drawn deeper and deeper into a strange, fantastical and unsettling world.
One can detect a potent mix of western and eastern influences in the the paintings. Raqib Shaw explains in an interview: "Japanese look at my work and think it's Japanese, Indians look at my work and think this is Indian. But, [I think my art is ] a very mediocre example of what is to follow as the world gets smaller, as people come closer. There are going to be artists who assimilate all cultures." So true, and those artists are not just going to be painters and sculptors but writers, musicians, and more.
