About Dr. Vasundhara (Vasu) Tolia

Discovery

About the Artist

Vasu is a contemporary painter who is constantly evolving her style. She lives in Michigan. Originally from India, she migrated to US for furthering medical career. She was a very successful academician, mentor, clinician and researcher. After retirement, she learnt drawing and painting and has found a perfect medium to pour her zeal for nature and humanity now. Presently, she is shifting from classic landscapes, flora, fauna and figures towards abstracting the same. Use of vibrant colors and geometric shapes is her hallmark to draw the viewer in to her stories on this visual journey of strokes, lines and vibrant colors inspired by people, the world and travels. The influence of Indian culture is evident in some of her figurative and Ganesha Paintings.

Vasu has received many awards for her works in local, regional and national competitions including best of shows several times, artist of the future award, published in several magazines and interviewed on radio and on YouTube by NAWA.

Her medical career has brought her numerous accolades with over 150 published research articles and book chapters. She still consults on medical issues. Vasu’s artwork has been shown in group exhibitions in Metro Detroit area, CA , NYC and in many online national exhibitions. She generously participates in projects for fund raising with her art on projects dear to her heart like healthcare, children and women’s causes. One of her paintings was featured in the TOP 20 Covid Art in Washington Post in 2020. She had two solo exhibitions so far and has two additional solo exhibitions slated for 2022. She recently joined the board of Friends of Asian Art and Culture at the Detroit Institute of Arts.

Vasu is also a budding poet who writes poems on different subjects and has been featured in several Ekphrastic events. Her bold, energetic strokes inject lyrical quality to her creations that has inspired many poets.

Exhibition Record

Solo Exhibitions

Solo Exhibition slated for Aug 2022

SOLO EXHIBITION: ‘A Woman’s Journey’ from July 12th to Aug 25th, 2017 at the Scarab Club, Detroit.

SOLO EXHIBITION: September 26th 2015 at Padzieski Art Gallery - Ford Community & Performing Arts Center, Dearborn, MI, for Foundation Of Michigan Association of Physicians of Indian Origin fundraising event.

Art for Healing of spirit and body - 9 paintings selected for Exhibition for Beaumont Hospitals from Jan 18th to April 15th; and additional 7 paintings for Exhibition at Taylor Beaumont Hospital from April 15th till July 2017

Featured in Artsy Shark website as a featured figurative artist in 2017

Group Exhibitions in Juried Shows

Participant in 27 juried group shows until Nov 2021 with 10 awards including best of show, second prize and several honorable mentions

Participant in 21 juried group shows in 2020 with 16 awards including best of show, featured by NAWA in a YouTube interview, and amongst best 20 pieces of art on Covid from Washington Post

Participant in 12 juried group shows in 2019 with 11 awards including a First Prize

Participant in 8 juried group shows in 2018 with 2 awards

Participant in 14 juried group shows in 2017 include a first and second place award

Participant in 6 juried group shows in 2016 includes 2 awards

Participant in 1group show in 2015

Bibliography

3 Paintings featured in the ‘ABSTRACT’ Issue of Art Ascent, August 2021 ( Pgs 82-84)

Featured in Destig Magazine July 2021.

4 Paintings published in Anniversary issue, vol 2 of Artist Portfolio Magazine, 2020

Scattered Ecstasies participant as a painter for Nov 2020 in collaboration with Poet from Windsor,

Covid-19 painting ‘Doctors’ Despair’ published in Grosse Pointe News, May 2020.

'Belle of the Ball’ accepted for - ekphrastic/2019 competition on Rattle and received record 370 poems submitted in response

Two paintings published in Artist Portfolio Magazine Issue 43, May 2020

One painting published in ArtAscent Magazine Feb 2020, feature Portraits

Two paintings published in ArtAscent Magazine Dec 2019, feature Motion

Scarab Club Annual Book 2015-2021

The pairs of paintings and poems in Light Ekphrastic

Education

Classes/workshops and constant evolution from observing art in museums and galleries.

MBBS from Kolkata University, India

Dr. Vasundhara (Vasu) Tolia is a nationally recognized physician-artist whose vibrant abstract and semi-abstract paintings invite reflection, calm, and connection. Her creative journey began after a distinguished medical career as a tenured Professor and Chief of Pediatric Gastroenterology at Wayne State University. Today, her work bridges science and soul—channeling a lifelong commitment to healing into a visual language of energy, resilience, and hope.

Her paintings have appeared on the cover of the CDC’s Emerging Infectious Diseases journal and in ArtAscent, where she was named Distinguished Artist in 2025. One of her COVID-era works was selected by The Washington Post as among the nation’s Top 20 pandemic-themed artworks. She has been featured in Artist Portfolio Magazine, Destig, Bold Journey, and over 30 podcasts including Becoming Bridge Builders, Flourish Careers, and Mastery Unleashed.

Dr. Tolia’s colorful, story-rich compositions are inspired by nature, identity, and neuroaesthetic research. Her signature style blends geometric motifs with intuitive gesture and textured layers. While rooted in healing, many works are also infused with her Indian heritage—especially her figurative and Ganesha paintings. Her artwork lives in public and private collections across the U.S., including at Henry Ford Medical Center, NeilMed Pharmaceuticals, and Baker College.

She has held 8 solo exhibitions to date, with her 2025 shows Floral Whispers and Nature’s Embrace drawing wide acclaim. She will speak at the Thrive in ’25 Conference in Chicago on the “Effects of Art on the Brain,” and presented to the World Health Organization in 2024 on the role of art in neurodivergent populations. Through each painting and platform, she continues her lifelong mission of transforming lives—this time through the healing power of art.

Solo Exhibitions (Selected)

Floral Whispers, Flagstar Strand Theatre, MI — Apr–Sept 2025
Diverse Visions, Livonia Fine Arts Gallery, MI — Aug 2024
Nature, Posterity Gallery, Grosse Pointe, MI — Sept–Oct 2023
This Is Every Woman, Brewery Park Gallery, Detroit — Sept 2023
The Symphony of Sentiments, Livonia Fine Arts Gallery, MI — Aug–Sept 2022
A Woman’s Journey, Scarab Club, Detroit — 2017
Collections, Padzieski Art Gallery, Dearborn — 2015
Healing Spirit & Body, Beaumont Hospitals — 2017

Group Exhibitions

Over 170 juried exhibitions since 2015 across the U.S. and online
Awards include: Best of Show, First & Second Place, Artist of the Future (2020), and Bronze, Silver, and Distinguished Artist recognitions from ArtAscent, Camelback Gallery, JMane Gallery, and Teravarna
Featured in the University of Michigan’s 2025 “Path to Precision” NeuroArts Exhibition

Public Collections

Baker College, Royal Oak Campus (3 works)
Henry Ford Medical Center, Macomb (1 work)
NeilMed Pharmaceuticals, Santa Rosa, CA (2 works)

Selected Publications & Media

ArtAscent Magazine — Cover & interview (2025); multiple features (2020–2024)
The Washington Post — Top 20 National COVID Art, 2020
CDC Journal — Cover Art, Dec 2022
Destig Magazine, Artist Portfolio Magazine, Light Ekphrastic, Rattle
Contributor to Mastery Unleashed best-selling book (2025)
Featured artist interviews on Artsy Shark, Bold Journey, CanvasRebel, VoyageMI

Public Speaking & Podcasts

Thrive in ’25 Conference, Chicago – Featured speaker, group workshop & mandala session
World Health Organization – Presentation on Art & Neurodivergence, 2024
Guest on 30+ podcasts including Design Your Legacy, Lost in the Groove, Inspired Choice, Season of Self-Love
Frequent speaker on creativity, healing, and women’s empowerment

Education

MBBS, University of Calcutta, India
Self-taught in visual arts with continued learning through workshops, galleries, and experimentation