The late Nirlipta Chaitanya Naveen Tuli MA (01 February 1964 – 18 July 2026) was a maker of visionary sacred art. He created vibrant paintings and illustrations from 1981 until his return to source in July 2026.
Working at the powerful intersection of dream visions and the traditional devotional art forms of his Indian heritage, Nirlipta uniquely re-imagined South Asian sacred art on a grand, powerful scale for the 21st century.
From the far boundaries of meditative and cosmic perspectives, Nirlipta also drew upon his training in art history at the Courtauld Institute of Art (BA Hons, 1996), and his post-graduate studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies (MA Indian Religions, 1998).
Nirlipta's mission as an artist and illustrator was to offer a direct visual connection to the immense power of the universal life force.
From 2022 to 2026, Nirlipta embarked on an undertaking that he felt had been assigned to him, and which he was obliged to do. It was in the form of a geas, which can be a gift or a curse, in this case coming from the Wisdom Goddess Bhairavi: to begin and complete, over the next decade or so, 108 complete sets of the ten images of the Mahavidyas, based on the images of them recovered from (what was the medieval period in Europe), around the tenth century. This was to be 1,080 paintings, plus preparatory studies. They were to be of differing sizes, to be created of the best materials possible, with the finest qualities of oil paint and supports, and were to be sold to, or commissioned by, interested individuals and parties. The prices paid for them were to be handsome and of substance.
It was made clear to Nirlipta that these were not to be decorative paintings, but in fact objects of power and luck. Their primary purpose is to act as portals for the energies of the Mahavidyas to come from there to here, from their reality to ours.
These are not paintings for everyone, but for people with some intuitive connection to these Wisdom Goddesses, who realise, respect and revere their significance. They are unique creations, blending themes from diverse sources: from neuroscience (relating to how our eyes and brain can be affected), from traditional oil painting, to shamanic and mystical experience, to meditative transformation from yoga and the philosophy of Samkhya, and from Tantric antecedents, of power, liberation of energy and expansion of consciousness.
Although the full remit of 1,080 paintings was not completed before Nirlipta's passing, many were completed and are available to buy. The paintings vary from miniatures of six inches square to those of more than ten feet square.
