Firmly rooted in the fabric of daily life in his native India, K. P. Reji paints what he sees, finding the extraordinary in the mundane, and expressing the wonder and struggle of existence in his lush, narrative canvases. As he explains: “For me, it is always a question of roots; I feel that if what I do is not related to my local situation, it will look artificial.” Influenced by the rich narratives in Indian miniature paintings, the architectural space in Giotto’s frescoes, and the narratives in Surrealist paintings, Reji produces simple vignettes, full of suggestion. His images of humble homes, couples, shoppers and vendors, streetscapes, and everyday objects are at once naturalistic and strange, reflective of the heady clash of the traditional and the contemporary in India and the difficulty of finding one’s place in a rapidly changing society.