The Space Show presents Dr. Kothari and his art show! Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025

Summary by Zoom. Edited.

Our program for today consisted of a virtual gallery tour of Dr. Ajay Kothari’s art exhibit at the Antique Den gallery in Fairfax, Va. Gallery owner Kei, along with Dr. Kothari, introduced the exhibit featuring approximately 40 paintings. They discussed our online Zoom tour. Kei presented the format for the program, helped in doing a gallery panorama of all the paintings plus she handled the smart phone camera while AJ explained various paintings, discussing his techniques, themes, and prices for each painting, all while sharing his artistic background and dedication to his work. Our Space Show audience inquired about the success of the exhibition, including strong attendance. Strong positive feedback was reported. In his talk at the beginning of the “tour”, AJ connected the dots with his artwork, vision and space. Due to the nature of several of his paintings, Dr. Kothari explored topics like space exploration and environmental responsibility plus the care of all animals and life here on our home planet. Space Show listeners sharing the Zoom meeting with us included Bill Gowan, Dr. Sherry Bell, and John Hunt.

Kei and Ajay discussed the connection between abstract art and the universe, emphasizing the importance of abstract representations in capturing the essence of cosmic phenomena. Ajay highlighted the responsibility humans have to care for Earth’s unique life forms, as they may be the only ones in the universe, and stressed the need for continued evolution in the third dimension through space exploration and scientific advancement. He argued that this vision should unite people globally, including artists, authors, and musicians, to support space exploration as an integral part of humanity’s future.

Ajay presented several of his paintings, explaining their themes and techniques. Early on, he discussed works such as “Ephemeral 4,” which captures a moment of dancers in motion, and “Conflict of Straight and Curb,” which explores the tension between straight and curved lines. Also shown were paintings titled “Angst,” “Big Bang Theory,” and “Non-Anger,” telling us how they convey different emotions and concepts.

Ajay’s gallery tour was in order of the way the paintings were displayed in the gallery. He highlighted a very unique and colorful painting of a Native American, expressing his feelings about the lack of representation of Native Americans in media and politics.

Ajay had a few landscape paintings including specific works like “Father of the Jungle” and “East Meets West at Amber Fort.” During our virtual tour, he clarified that most of the paintings were either oil or acrylic on canvas, with a few exceptions. By the way, for each painting he also told us its price/. He mentioned that one painting had been sold recently with interest in several more. The discussion included comments from Bill regarding his skill in depicting skies and a brief exchange about the use of palette knives in some of the paintings.

Ajay was asked to explain his pricing strategy for his paintings, which he said is based on analogy to previously sold works and relative size. I jokingly asked how his health was, and should we buy one of his paintings, might we see a quick boost in price due to a health problem. Ajay laughed along with me and assured us all that his health is good, and prices are unlikely to inflate suddenly. Ajay expressed his belief that science, art, and philosophy should be integrated, and emphasized the need for a strong vision in leadership roles like the NASA head. The discussion concluded with Ajay sharing his artistic background and dedication to his work, and Bill expressing admiration for his artistic achievements.

Space Show participant Bill raised a question about planetary protection at Mars given one of Ajay’s paintings of Mars – see our tour to see and learn more about this painting. In response, Ajay expressed little interest in the planetary defense topic, instead emphasizing the importance of space exploration and human cognitive evolution, while expressing skepticism about the feasibility of large-scale human migration to Mars within the next few centuries.

I asked everyone, including gallery owner Kei, to share with us their favorite painting(s) in Ajay’s collection. I told everyone that I really liked several pieces including the Ballerina, red sky and ocean paintings, and the very special Mars piece. Sherry and Bill shared their preferences, with Sherry liking an arch-inspired painting and Bill appreciating the abstract piece called “Uncertain” and another titled “Angst.”

Before ending, Sherry suggested exploring merchandise opportunities featuring his artwork, such as totes and purses, to expand market reach. Ajay shared his thoughts on using his art to make a case for science, space exploration, and environmental responsibility in a potential future Senate confirmation hearing should Dr. Kothari ever be tapped for a high-level government policy appointment position. We concluded this Space Show program by thanking both Kei and Ajay for hosting the exhibition and to all participants for their attendance in this very special and unique Space Show program.

Special thanks to our sponsors:Northrup Grumman, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Helix Space in Luxembourg, Celestis Memorial Spaceflights, Astrox Corporation, Dr. Haym Benaroya of Rutgers University, The Space Settlement Progress Blog by John Jossy, The Atlantis Project, and Artless Entertainment

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Upcoming Programs:

Broadcast 4437 Zoom: OPEN LINES DISCUSSION | Sunday 28 Sep 2025 1200PM PT

Guests: Dr. David Livingston

ZOOM Open Lines Discussion. Listen/participate w/Zoom phone numbers to be published on our blog for this program

Special thanks to our sponsors:Northrup Grumman, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Helix Space in Luxembourg, Celestis Memorial Spaceflights, Astrox Corporation, Dr. Haym Benaroya of Rutgers University, The Space Settlement Progress Blog by John Jossy, The Atlantis Project, and Artless Entertainment

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