Riches from Hyderabad

Jagdish Mittal, Connoisseur, collector, artist and historian-scholar, brings rare delight to Delhi with an exhibition of folk paintings from his renowned collection. The treasures of the Jagdish and Kamla Mittal Museum of Indian Art, gifted to the nation, lie in special store in Hyderabad, and every

Baroda: In search of time past

All of Baroda is redolent with the secrets of an old city, writes Mala Marwah of the Gaekwads’ ancient capital, where palaces and old fashioned bakeries coexist amiably with the Indian Petro-chemical complex and a space-age planetarium.

It is always very atmospheric to write 'Leaves from a Diary’

Exhibition Review: Nilima Sheikh's paintings

Nilima Sheikh’s recent recent exhibition in Delhi which included oil paintings drew special attention to its section of watercolours painted on traditional vasli (a mounted surface prepared by laminating three or four thicknesses of handmade paper with lai, coated, given a glue and whitening

Notes on four artists: Vivan Sundaram, Nalini Malani, Gieve Patel, Bhupen Khakhar

It will be acknowledged that the expression of civic values in art is not a new concept of this century. The curious fact is however tat the perspectives of art history, and indeed social history, display an emphasis on this aspect of life in a distinct and especial manner, both in terms of the development

The Secular Image

In the concluding article of the series, Paintings Must be Talked About, edited by Gieve Patel, Mala Marwah examines the work of Gulam Mohammed Sheikh and Laxma Goud.

One stream of contemporary Indian art has focussed attention upon non-purist exercise, with emphasis on subject matter and image.

Narrative Elements in Painting. Solid Aspects of a Shifting Art

A great storyteller will always be rooted in the people, primarily in a milieu of craftsmen.

- Walter Benjamin, The Storyteller,‘Illuminations’

To narrate is to evoke. As with all forms of expression that have their origin in the oral tradition, the narrative emphasizes subject-matter which

Nilima Sheikh- The Picture and Beyond

Nilima Sheikh’s approach to her work is far more than the painting of a picture. Some months earlier she exhibited the Images from Umrao, large screen panels painted to show the changing of the seasons as sympathetic visuals to the ageing of the courtesan Umrao Jaan in the play of the same name.This

Nilima Sheikh: Human Encounters with the Natural World

The work of Nilima Sheikh (b. 1945) stands before us at a time when varying theories relating to modernism in Indian art are being closely argued. Her working of an aesthetic that relates art to the artisanal has enriched our reading of the modern, and owes as much to her teacher at the Faculty of Fine

Madhvi Parekh

It will be observed that the strength of artistic Memory lies in its power to transform the subject of its inspiration. Far from being merely reflective, such memory makes it possible to recount an incident in a new context with fresh significance. Much more than representation is required to refascinate

Magan Soma

Magan Soma Parmar worked as a Studio Attendant of the Fine Arts, Baroda, for 18 years. On the 14^th of August 1975 he succumbed to a prolonged ailment at the age of 39.

Working with students and teachers in the graphics department he showed an increasing interest and talent in printmaking

Akbar Padamsee in conversation with Mala Marwah

Through variance of all kinds in the stylistic concerns of an artist, one factor that makes itself clearly available to sight is the vision that dictates his path and choices. The visual statement describes its own temper. In the artist's table of priorities, the actual choice of subject and

Expression in Style

It stands to reason that with regard to an artist like Souza, whose temperament would seem to lay him bare his work will also be similarly apodictic. The thesis that points to things shared between body and mind is not a new one, but is perhaps the strongest argument that accompanies any work of an