Born in 1986 in Karnataka, Shailesh B.R. received a bachelor’s degree in fine arts, specializing in painting, from the Chamarajendran Academy of Visual Arts, Mysore, and a post-graduate diploma from the Faculty of Fine Arts, MSU, Baroda. Shailesh’s practice includes collage-making inspired by the oeuvres of Benodebehari Mukherjee, Henri Matisse and Man Ray, in which he prioritizes the spatial play of colour, texture, form and line, as well as kinetic sculptures, in which he explores concepts of artificial intelligence and enlightenment in relation to cognitive and spiritual practices.

Shailesh’s solo exhibitions include The Last Brahmin at the prestigious Villa Arson in Nice, France (2020); and Tarka at Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi (2017). His work has been exhibited in group curations titled Future Lies Ahead – Cloud Messenger at the Daejeon Museum of Art, South Korea (2023); Magical Hackerism, or the Elasticity of Resilience at Savvy Contemporary, Berlin(2022); and Language Is Migrant at Colomboscope, Sri Lanka, and its Abu Dhabi edition (2022). His other prominent group participations include Bikaner House, New Delhi (2023); Hub India, Turin, Italy (2021); Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi (2021, 2019, 2018); Birla Academy of Arts & Culture, Kolkata (2021); Busan Video Art Festival, South Korea (2020); BIG Biennale, Geneva (2019); Sensorium, Sunaparanta Centre for the Arts, Goa (2018); Students’ Biennale, Kochi–Muziris Biennale (2015); and the Centre for International Modern Art, Kolkata (2014), among others.

In 2023, Shailesh was a resident at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria in Vienna. In 2021, he was a finalist for the Sovereign Art Prize and exhibited his work at the finalists’ exhibition in Hong Kong. He was awarded the FICA Emerging Artist Award in 2016 and the Inlaks Fine Arts Award in 2014. He has also completed residencies at the Asia Culture Center, Gwangju, South Korea (2022); Villa Arson, Nice, France (2020); the Embassy of Foreign Artists Residency, Geneva, Switzerland (2019); and Atelier Mondial / Pro Helvetia – Swiss Art Council, Basel, Switzerland (2016), among other national residencies. The artist lives and works in New Delhi, India.