Artist Jyothi Basu’s life and practice

Viewing Jyothi Basu’s images is equally soothing and unsettling; one tends to sense something unusual and unconventional, like a beast seeking human sacrifice, might lurk below the uneventful and quiet surface.

Born in Kerala in 1960, he did his Bachelor of Fine Arts (Painting) from College of Fine Arts, Trivandrum (1987) and a Post Diploma in Painting from Faculty of Fine Arts, Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda (1991). He wanted to avoid studying the subject of Art History, so he opted for a diploma instead of the MFA course.

A member of the ‘Radical Group’, striving to revolutionize modern art techniques and practices in India in the 1980’s, his imagery can be traced to works of artists like Hieronymus Bosch, Rousseau and Frida Kahlo. Among his selected solo exhibitions are 'Visionary Antiquities', Nature Morte, New Delhi & Galerie Mirchandani + Steinruecke, Mumbai (2006); 'Landscapes Towards A Supreme Fiction', Thomas Erben Gallery, New York (2006); and 'Healing Properties: Landscapes of the Self', Artists' Center, Mumbai (2003).

He has also featured in several group shows including ‘Expanding Horizons’, a traveling exhibition courtesy Bodhi Art (2008-09); ‘Anxious’, Galerie Mirchandani + Steinruecke (2008); 'ART FORUM Berlin', with Aji V.N. and Ratheesh T. courtesy Galerie Mirchandani + Steinruecke (2008); and 'Mumbai Metronomes', The Museum Gallery, Mumbai (2007). Among his noteworthy participations are 'Santhal Family: Positions Around an Indian Sculpture', MuHKA, Antwerp, Belgium (2008); 'Horn Please: Narratives in Contemporary Indian Art', Kunstmuseum Bern, Switzerland (2007); 'Private/Corporate IV: Works from the Lekha & Anupam Poddar and Daimler Chrysler Collections' in Berlin (2007).

Jyothi Basu underwent a self-imposed painterly hiatus from 1991 to 1998. Alluding to his rebirth as a painter, his subsequent series of works, he dealt with the themes of death and resurrection, tinged with tones of the fantastic and ephemeral.