Two Iconic Bhakti Artists

Dhrti Dasi

Born in 1957 in Wroclaw, Poland, as Miriam Briks, Dhrti Dasi, was introduced to art at the age of five and later studied it formally at the Art Students League of New York and the School of Art and Design, also in New York. After completing her graduation in 1975, she went to Los Angeles where she joined the artists at the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust (BBT) art studio. She stayed there for four years, working on many projects, including a 24-volume series of the Chaitanya Charitamrita, a classic Gaudiya Vaishnava text from India. Dhrti met her husband, Ramdas Abhiram Das, at the BBT art studios, where they worked on many pieces together. In 1979 they went to Florence, Italy where Dhrti headed a BBT art department. Whilst in Italy, she studied at the Academia de Siena, and began exhibiting her work in Italy, France, and England. She returned to the United States in 1986, and began following the Impressionistic style of painting. Though trained primarily in classical art, her work includes more varied use of color and strong gestural strokes, inspired greatly by the artists Sargent, Chase, Sorolla and Zorn and her studies of Indian epics. Her portrayal of figuration is skillful and evocative and vividly brings alive the featured narratives. Dhrti’s works are found in many private collections throughout the United States and Europe, and she continues to work from her base in the US.

Ramdas Abhiram Das

Born in 1951 in Maui, Hawaii, as Kevin Albert Yee, Ramdas Abhiram Das, graduated with a degree in Fine Art from California State University at Fullerton. He began his career by doing illustration work, first for an international publishing company and later for the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust (BBT). In 1980 he relocated to Florence, Italy, where he studied at the Academia de Siena and the Academia de Arte Firenze and learnt the art and techniques of fresco and egg tempera. He was the Art Director for the Italian BBT for six years. Though trained initially in classical art and illustration, over the years he has developed his own style, marked for its spontaneity and mystique. Narratives set amidst nature, he has painted more than 300 oil paintings and his work has been exhibited in Italy, France, Belgium, England, South Africa, and India.