Hemant Rao is a self-taught Indian abstract artist, whose paintings have been featured at international art fairs.
Rao was born in 1984 at Raghogarh, Madhya Pradesh and worked at Bhopal's Bharat Bhavan multi-arts complex during his formative years.[1]
He has received 60th National Academy Award from Lalit Kala Akademi, India's national academy of fine arts, in 2019.[2] Rao is also a recipient of Junior Fellowship (2011–12) of the Ministry of Culture, Government of India. Despite coming from a humble, rural background, his modern abstract work with soft pastels is free from any regional inclinations, as noted by Rita Dutta of The Telegraph.[3] Rao's paintings have been canvassed at numerous exhibits including Busan International Art Fair in 2011, Seoul Art Festival in 2011, Art Revolution Taipei in 2019, Bangkok Triennale International Print & Drawing Exhibition in 2014, India Art Fair in 2020,[4] among other solo or group shows.[5] [6] [7] The artist currently lives and works in Bhopal.