The veteran artist-philosopher has constantly challenged prevalent Western, and even Indian aesthetic theories. His work invariably exhibits dual pulls of spirit and matter that he perceives as a ‘bed of tensions’ originating from the formal, the linear, the tonal, and chromatic upon which the form surfaces or stays in a fluid potential state. Summing up his philosophy as an artist, he quips: “The relationship between inside and outside, between silence and sound makes a work of art; there should be no audience. Just artist and (his) painting…"
While analyzing and savoring the master’s magisterial art practice spread over six decades, one tries to retrace the mysterious, mystical processes of renewal, which continue to inspire and propel a glorious artistic quest. It is not possible to categorize or confine Akbar Padamsee to a specific category or period; the restless artist occupies a very niche experimental space of his own.
Considered one of the pioneers of Modern Indian Art or Indian Modern painting idiom, he has constantly challenged prevalent Western and even Indian aesthetic theories. His work invariably exhibits dual pulls of spirit and matter that he perceives as a ‘bed of tensions’, originating from the formal, the linear, the tonal, and chromatic upon which the form surfaces or stays in a fluid potential state.
Since the 1970s, his oeuvre has been alternating between luminous metascapes, considered his signature works, and the human figure he imbues with an arresting presence. His apparent fascination and his self-confessed obsession with the intriguing human form - the female nude, in particular, were evidenced in the early and more recent solitary figures he depicted. They were unique in as much as they didn’t emphasize eroticism as much as they built a sense of detachment and loneliness.
He has won the Lalit Kala Ratna from LKA, Delhi (2004), and Kalidas Samman by the MP government in 1997-98, apart from Padma Bhushan, the country’s prestigious civilian honor in 2010. A book featuring his photographs of nudes will be released later this year.
While analyzing and savoring the master’s magisterial art practice spread over six decades, one tries to retrace the mysterious, mystical processes of renewal, which continue to inspire and propel a glorious artistic quest. It is not possible to categorize or confine Akbar Padamsee to a specific category or period; the restless artist occupies a very niche experimental space of his own.
Considered one of the pioneers of Modern Indian Art or Indian Modern painting idiom, he has constantly challenged prevalent Western and even Indian aesthetic theories. His work invariably exhibits dual pulls of spirit and matter that he perceives as a ‘bed of tensions’, originating from the formal, the linear, the tonal, and chromatic upon which the form surfaces or stays in a fluid potential state.
Since the 1970s, his oeuvre has been alternating between luminous metascapes, considered his signature works, and the human figure he imbues with an arresting presence. His apparent fascination and his self-confessed obsession with the intriguing human form - the female nude, in particular, were evidenced in the early and more recent solitary figures he depicted. They were unique in as much as they didn’t emphasize eroticism as much as they built a sense of detachment and loneliness.
He has won the Lalit Kala Ratna from LKA, Delhi (2004), and Kalidas Samman by the MP government in 1997-98, apart from Padma Bhushan, the country’s prestigious civilian honor in 2010. A book featuring his photographs of nudes will be released later this year.
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