New Generation of Artists Making their Mark

Indian contemporary art—as with all art, culture, and life itself—is a perpetual continuation from one generation to the next. Inspired by those who went before, yet imbuing their canvases with subject matter and style within the context of their own generation, Indian artists born in the 1950’s, 60’s, and 70’s are getting their due. Although techniques, mediums, and interpretations may change, the indispensable truths of human emotions coping in a world of upheaval and change do not. Brief biographies of artists who are currently making their mark in this time and place are listed below.

Jayshree Chakravarty was educated at Santiniketan, graduated in Fine Arts from the Viswa Bharati University, Santiniketan, in 1978, and obtained a post-graduate diploma from M.S.University, Baroda, in 1980. Her works, most of which have a dreamlike quality to them, are comprised of fluid, superimposed forms that mirror the present mood of the world, which is flexible in itself. At a conventional and figurative level, her works also reflect the unity of man with nature.

Anju Dodiya was born in Mumbai in 1964, and received her diploma from the Sir J.J. School of Art in 1986. The wife of artist Atul Dodiya, her focus of attention is placed in infinite, sometimes theatrical situations, that explore both internal and external realities. The technical competence of her paintings is matched by calm, almost detached, observations.

Atul Dodiya was born in 1959 in Mumbai and received his diploma from the Sir J.J. School of Art in 1982. Dodiya's strongly realistic works subtlety represent middle class homes, family life, as well as his own background. Thin layers of deftly painted strokes mirror suggestive situations. In his latest works he freely quotes his artistic peers like Hockney and Bhupen Khakhar to reflect on the act of painting itself.

Sheela Gowda was born in Bhadravati, Karnataka in 1957, earned a diploma in painting from the Ken School of Art, Bangalore in 1979, and studied briefly at M.S. University, Baroda. Her works are abstract and expressive, capturing life’s raw intricacies with empathy and involvement. Her female viewpoint of reality deals with the oppressive, fantastic—yet poetic—physical and emotional individuality of people in their drab surroundings. Her figures and objects often merge into a complex, flexible and permeable unity with the background, simultaneously bringing everything to the surface.

Jitish Kallat was born in Mumbai in 1974 and received his BFA in painting from the Sir J. J. School of Art in Mumbai in 1996. Kallat's works are often of great size—his largest is 8 x 20 feet—and the close relationship between words, images, tradition and contemporary symbols are his essential themes. His art technique often involves aqpplying numerous layers of paint and collage over photographs which are then allowed to dry. He then peels away portions of the paint layers to create the imagery of his painting, which gives them a commercial appearance that resembles popular advertisements on one hand, yet at the same time, the rough, chipped, and graffiti-scrawled surfaces are reminiscent of many of the older walls and buildings in Mumbai.

Born in Kerala, India in 1974, but now living and working in Mumbai, Justin Ponmany graduated from the Sir J.J. School of Art. His works are inspired by this city whose landscape is constantly in flux. His preferred choices of materials include epoxy, resins, hologram foil, and printer’s ink—modern materials that reflect a state of mind that is also plastic—what he describes as "Plastic Memory". His works contain an array of emotions: life, love, and loss, as well of self, place, decay, and survival in the gritty environment of modern everyday living. He is one of the most highly regarded Indian artists of his generation.

T. V. Santosh was born in 1968 and is another rising star of the contemporary Indian art scene. He received his B.F.A in Sculpture, Kalabhavan, Santiniketan, West Bengal in 1994 and his Master of Fine Arts in Sculpture, M.S.U, Baroda in 1997. Santhosh’s work tackles the relentless presence of violence and injustice in history. His canvases confront the hard-hitting subjects of war and terrorism, seeking to question the influence of politics and media on these global issues, most notably their representation and manipulation of the events. He appropriates references from such sources as magazines, newspapers and television and often infuses common, ordinary objects into his works. The influence of print media is reflected in the photographic quality of his works, both in their clarity and composition.

One day in the not too distant future, others who are just now learning their craft will supplant these gifted artists. And so the world goes.