Artists Profile
Akbar Padamsee
Born in 1928 in Mumbai, Akbar Padamsee was a well-renowned postcolonial artist whose contribution to modern art in India has been magnanimous.
He received his diploma from Sir JJ School of Art in Mumbai. He left for Paris in 1951. The following year he was awarded a prize for his painting ‘Blue Bird’ by Andre Breton, on behalf of the Journal d'Art. His first solo exhibition was held at Galerie Saint Placide, Paris, in 1952, followed by a solo exhibition at Jehangir Art Gallery, Bombay, in 1954. After living abroad for many years, he returned to India in 1968.
He had a very distinct style and his works were imbibed in spirituality, creating a meditative composition on his media. Combining his intuition, mathematical precision, creativity and subtle wit, he created exemplary works across a gamut of media, from canvas to more recent virtual graphics.
A barrage of influences inspired Akbar Padamsee. However, the teaching of Upanishad doctrines proved to be most prominent and effective. A scholar in Sanskrit, he etched the essence of Vedas onto his canvases and successfully created artworks that resonated from the echoes of one’s mind and soul. His technical proficiency concerning the structure and the fundamentals of light enabled him to compose his metascape terrains. With his works, he presented the unseen seismic movements that occur underground in a new light.
Akbar Padamsee, as an art artist, abhorred inertia and thus his oeuvre spanned from figures to metascapes, to computer graphics, and heads. His early work portrayed heads, prophets, and couples or lovers. His subjects appeared astute with a pondering gaze, since he disliked the sentimental and refused to submerge his figures with that feeling.
Among several shows, he had major retrospectives in Mumbai and New Delhi in 1980. He has participated in the exhibitions, Seven Indian Painters, Gallery One, London in 1958, International Biennales at Venice; Sao Paulo and Tokyo; Museum of Modern Art, Oxford, 1981; Royal Academy of Arts, Festival of India, London 1982; Indian Artists in France, Paris 1985, among others. In 1967 he was invited as Artist-in-Residence by Stout State University, Wisconsin, USA. In 2010, he was awarded the title of Padma Bhushan by the government of India for his contribution to Fine Art. The artist passed away in 2020.
He received his diploma from Sir JJ School of Art in Mumbai. He left for Paris in 1951. The following year he was awarded a prize for his painting ‘Blue Bird’ by Andre Breton, on behalf of the Journal d'Art. His first solo exhibition was held at Galerie Saint Placide, Paris, in 1952, followed by a solo exhibition at Jehangir Art Gallery, Bombay, in 1954. After living abroad for many years, he returned to India in 1968.
He had a very distinct style and his works were imbibed in spirituality, creating a meditative composition on his media. Combining his intuition, mathematical precision, creativity and subtle wit, he created exemplary works across a gamut of media, from canvas to more recent virtual graphics.
A barrage of influences inspired Akbar Padamsee. However, the teaching of Upanishad doctrines proved to be most prominent and effective. A scholar in Sanskrit, he etched the essence of Vedas onto his canvases and successfully created artworks that resonated from the echoes of one’s mind and soul. His technical proficiency concerning the structure and the fundamentals of light enabled him to compose his metascape terrains. With his works, he presented the unseen seismic movements that occur underground in a new light.
Akbar Padamsee, as an art artist, abhorred inertia and thus his oeuvre spanned from figures to metascapes, to computer graphics, and heads. His early work portrayed heads, prophets, and couples or lovers. His subjects appeared astute with a pondering gaze, since he disliked the sentimental and refused to submerge his figures with that feeling.
Among several shows, he had major retrospectives in Mumbai and New Delhi in 1980. He has participated in the exhibitions, Seven Indian Painters, Gallery One, London in 1958, International Biennales at Venice; Sao Paulo and Tokyo; Museum of Modern Art, Oxford, 1981; Royal Academy of Arts, Festival of India, London 1982; Indian Artists in France, Paris 1985, among others. In 1967 he was invited as Artist-in-Residence by Stout State University, Wisconsin, USA. In 2010, he was awarded the title of Padma Bhushan by the government of India for his contribution to Fine Art. The artist passed away in 2020.
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