About

Usha Rappange Bhalla

Usha Rappange Bhalla is a painter whose work reflects a life shaped by movement, resilience, and cultural exchange. Born in Lahore in 1944, she was displaced during the Partition of India, an experience that would deeply inform her artistic voice. Growing up in Shimla, she discovered her passion for painting early on and went on to study at St. Bede’s College, followed by the Government College of Art in Delhi and the Delhi Polytechnic Academy of Art.

Her artistic journey continued in London, where she received a scholarship to the Sir John Cass College of Art and later earned her Master’s degree at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp. These experiences broadened her perspective, blending Indian sensibilities with Western modernist influences.

Usha’s work has been exhibited internationally, including at the National Gallery of Modern Art in New Delhi, the Jehangir Nicholson Art Foundation in Mumbai, UNESCO in Paris, CERN, and the European Parliament. Alongside her artistic practice, she has been deeply committed to arts education, mentoring and nurturing emerging artists for over two decades. Her contributions have been recognized with listings in the International Register of Profiles and The World’s Who’s Who of Women.

Beyond canvas, Usha has pioneered a distinctive practice of “Living Glass”—a technique that merges painting with glass panels to create layered compositions of transparency and light. Her work evokes a meditative rhythm, drawing from natural elements such as earth, water, and sky, while bridging Eastern philosophy and Western abstraction.

Her career has been defined by exploration, persistence, and a search for harmony. Having lived and worked across India and Europe, Usha continues to create art that transcends boundaries, offering a visual language that is both deeply personal and universally resonant.