Nimai Kesten

about the artist

  Nimai Kesten was born in 1974 to parents deeply entrenched in the Hare Krishna movement in New York City. By 1980, Nimai’s parents had left him to the care of the Krishnas where he became not only completely alienated from modern society, but also suffered abuse at the hands of his caretakers.  By 1985, Nimai’s father rescued him from their care and returned to life in New York City.

Back in the city, Nimai endured relentless ridicule from his ‘normal’ schoolmates due to his traditional Krishna shaved hairstyle, which began to fuel his youthful resentment and anger toward the Hare Krishna school and what they had done to him.

By age 13, Nimai had transformed into rebellious NYC kid, riding a skateboard with his new long hairstyle blowing in the wind. Soon, Nimai would discover his true passion, surfing. Waiting for waves and watching the horizon at Rockaway, Nimai began to get a grip on his teenage angst and re-examine what life meant to him.

Despite the mistreatment Nimai had endured as a child in the care of the Hare Krishnas, the core beliefs and ideology taught in Krishna Consciousness began to re-emerge as a strong force in Nimai's life. Suddenly, for the first time, he began to examine this pop culture world he immersed himself in through, new, spiritual eyes.

Nimai moved to Venice Beach, California in 2002 to focus on his art as a cathartic means to make sense of his conflicting, personal ideas of 'Faith' and the corruption of one's 'Beliefs'.