Rajan Seth is one of the most exciting talents in the UK abstract art scene – his rise made all the more remarkable as he was working full time as a chartered accountant just four years ago.
“The last few years has been an absolute whirlwind,” Rajan tells Verve from London. “From my work being shown in Vogue to my first solo exhibition and amassing 160,000 followers on Instagram. It’s been incredible.”
Rajan can count the likes of England cricketer James Anderson, Michelin-starred chef Atul Kochhar, UK broadcaster Fearne Cotton, and soccer star Nick Pope among those fans, and has been commissioned for works spanning up to 300cm.
“I feel so lucky to have been given the opportunity to create for them,” he says, “especially Fearne who’s really into painting. She’s super cool, and from my area too – which I found out when she came to collect her piece!”
Without social media, Rajan admits that he would never have found such a massive audience and “share my work with the world”.
“It has given me a platform to reach people in places I could have never imagined, and of course it’s free,” he continues. “I’ve now sold works in places like Australia, USA, Singapore, and Israel. If you’d told me this a few years ago, I probably would have laughed. There was no grand plan, other than if you don’t try, you’ll never know!”
Do you believe Instagram is making galleries redundant?
“I think galleries will always play a massive role in the art world, as people like to see things in the flesh, but what Instagram is doing is enabling the consumer to purchase directly from the artist, and effectively cutting out the gallery. I love working directly with the client. It means we can work together more efficiently to talk about the style, colours, and overall theme for their artwork in a more personal way.”
Though he’d always had a “passion for painting”, Rajan never dared dream that it would one day materialise into full-time work. Unhappily drifting through multiple accountancy jobs, Rajan rediscovered his love of for painting in 2017 to “relieve stress and express myself”. He created his Instagram page the following year.
“Naturally my parents were apprehensive about the change – as was I! – but I had my big brother in the background pushing me along the way and encouraging me to give it a go.”
Saatchi Art describes Rajan as an unconventional and compelling artist with a “unique approach” to his work. Renowned for “painting without a paintbrush”, Rajan opts instead to use the likes of palette knives and paint scrapers to create his signature metallic pieces.
“It’s an approach I settled on through trial and error,” explains the artist. “There’s no right or wrong way to paint, but paintbrushes were too boring for me, and I like working on big pieces. These are the pieces that allow me to be as creative as possible by having more surface area to work with. I want to get stuck in. Moving the material on the canvas with my hands allows me to form a better connection with the piece.”
How do you know when a work is done?
“A gut feeling tells me to stop. This really comes with years of practising. You have to know the limitations of your work to be able to understand when the piece has ticked all the criteria you set out to achieve. For example, there are fundamentals to my work, like using natural material as texture, using contrasting colours, and adding metallics.”
How did your passion for metallics came about?
“One thing that has always fascinated me since studying art back at school was reflection. I remember doing a photography project where I took pictures of trees reflecting in water, mostly in puddles. I was intrigued how the structure of the branches completely changed perspective when you looked from a different angle. Looking back now, I think this project ultimately led to me experiment with metallics in my work. I love the way the light reflects gold off surfaces, there’s something so magical about it. And throughout the day, as the light changes, you’ll see a different piece.”
Believing that art has its own vision, Rajan says that it’s essential to take each piece on a journey “to see where it ends up”.
“Of course, I have something visualised in my mind to begin with, but it almost always never turns out the way I expected,” he adds. “And that’s what I most love about painting.”
“I love working directly with the client. It means we can work together more efficiently to talk about the style, colours, and overall theme for their artwork in a more personal way.”
