Born in Kolkata in 1953, Bhowmik graduated in 1973 with a degree in science from Kanpur University and went on to earn his Diploma of Fine Art from the Government College of Art and Craft.

Ashok Bhowmik's paintings derive their strength primarily from the genre of Symbolic Expressionism wherein the emphasis is more on creating a visual surface that offers hints of recognizable imageries and yet remain quite mysterious and enigmatic. With somber colors and bold renderings the collective effect of his paintings is a sense of silence and stillness.

Bhowmik's distinct style of portraying human faces and bodies brings to mind ancient statues, with pictorial cues from ancient Egypt and Africa, as seen in the profile eye and facial features of many of his subjects. His paintings, highlighted with streams of color and accents are set against stark, bleak backgrounds, adding to the simplistic yet powerful nature of his images.

Along with his showings, workshops and camps, Ashok Bhowmik has received several awards such as, the Certificate of Merit, Annual Exhibition of Government College of Art and Craft, Kolkata and the Academy Awards from Academy of Fine Arts, Kolkata, in both 1980 and 1981.

Bhowmik has displayed his work in many places all over the world such as, Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai, Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi, Sophia Duchesne Art Gallery, Birla Academy, Sarala Art Gallery, Chennai, Indo-German Cultural Society to name a few.

His select solo exhibitions include “Alchemy of Enigma”, Tamarind Art, New York, ’08, "Symbolic Expression, Multiple Charade", Galerie 88, ’06, Street Child and other paintings, Hamail Art Galleries, Lahore, Pakistan, ’05, “Warli and other paintings”, Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai, ’04, “Selected Works”, Kumar Gallery, Delhi, ’04, “Recent Works”, Katayun Gallery, Kolkata, ’01, solo show at Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai, 2000, “Works On Paper”, Admit One Art Gallery, New York, ’99, “Manushi and other paintings“, Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai, ’97, My City, My Childhood“, Academy of Fine Arts, Kolkata, ’96, Tao Art Gallery, Mumbai, ’96, solo at Jehangir Art gallery, Mumbai, ’96, solo exhibition, Galerie 88, Kolkata, ’95, “Undulations”, Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai, ’94, solo exhibition, Sophia Duchesne Gallery, Mumbai, ’94, “Ganesha”, Artists Centre, Mumbai, ’93, solo exhibition, Galerie 88, Kolkata, ’91, “Amidst the Darkness”, Allahabad University, Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, ’83, Sun and the Beggar”, Nehru Hall, Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh, India and Academy of Fine Arts, Kolkata, ’80, Ashok - 74”, Indian Medical Hall, Kanpur, India, ’74.
Since ’77 to present,Bhowmik has participated in numerous group exhibition such as Figurative Symbolism”, Galerie 88 at Lalit Kala Akademy, Delhi, “Art Access-V”, Birla Academy of Art and Culture, Mumbai, “Jewels of Contemporary Indian Art”, conducted by Concern India Foundation, Mumbai, “Artistree”, Gallery Pegasus, “Exhibition of Art of Bengal, Millennium Festival”, The Image of a Woman”, organized by Galleria, Mumbai, Group Show, Galerie 88, “Annual Exhibition” of Birla Academy, Kolkata, “Small Formats”, organized by Art Today, Delhi, “Sixth Biennial”, Bharat Bhavan, Bhopal, “Kolkata Through the Eyes of Painters”, organized by Birla Academy, Kolkata, “Kolkata Through the Eyes of Painters”, “Contemporary Young Faces”, group exhibitions at Lalit Kala Academy, Delhi and at American University Centre.

Bhowmik’s works are part of prestigious collections such as Ulmer Museum, Germany, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Lalit Kala Academy, Dehli, National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi, Birla Academy of Fine Arts and Culture, Kolkata and Bengal Foundation, Dhaka. Also, he has participated in numerous workshops and art camps in China, Egypt, Thailand, Italy, Australia, as well as Istanbul. In addition, Bhowmik has directed art Workshops in Azamgarh, Bhopal, and spear-headed Project JointArt for the special needs children of Mano Vikas.

Bhupen Burman was educated and professionally based in Baroda, India. He received both his BFA and MFA in Sculpture from the Faculty of Fine Arts, Maharaja Sayajirao University, where he also taught during the last years of his life.

Burman was the recipient of numerous awards including the National Academy Award from the Lalit Kala Akademi for 2005-2006, and the National Scholarship by the Human Resource Development (HRD) in India. Group shows he participated in include Towards a New Viewership/Audience at Art Konsult, New Delhi in 2009; Elements Of Equilibrium in 2008 and Panchaloha in 2007 at the Tamarind Art Gallery, New York; and Vansh Vriksha at Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai in 2008.

The majority of Burman’s work is sculpted from cast bronze, though it often included such diverse materials as wood, brass, and lacquer. He worked with simplified, almost primitive forms, to give life to commonplace objects. His treatment of subjects ranged from the faithful rendering of natural forms to the playful distortions of surrealism. Titles such as ‘I Can’t See Everything From Here’ and ‘We Are In The Same Boat, Brother’ highlight both the humor and pathos of his works.

Burman passed away on December 6, 2009 due to cardiac arrest at the age of 36. He is survived by his wife Rupalim and a two year old son.

Born in 1964, Kamal Mitra graduated from Kala Bhavan, Vishwabharati, Aantiniketan in 1993. Mitra has participated in a number of prestigious group and solo exhibitions; his most recent was Oblique Memoir, a solo show at Tamarind Art gallery in 2009.

Mitra has also received a number of prestigious awards. He was awarded the Junior Fellowship under Ministry of Culture, Govt. of India in 2000 and received drawing award from the Rajya Charukala Pradarshani, Govt. of West Bengal in 1996, and was also awarded the Graphic Art Award from Annual Exhibition of Kolkata Information Centre, Govt. of West Bengal in 1995.

Mitra is a master at handling his medium, which in this case is acrylic on canvas. The dexterity with which he paints is remarkable. His compositions and palette have a portentous nature that lends a tone both tense and contemplative to his paintings. Mitra has indeed made a new and unique contribution to contemporary Indian art culture. His method is meditative and indulgent. The paradoxes in his work – the blurring boundaries between interior and exterior, between physical and psychological – are what sustain their interest most deeply for the viewers, and what continually opens up new possibilities each time you revisit the works.

Artist Statement

"I began my career as a printmaker where the medium allowed me to convey my thoughts to its fullest. I enjoy the medium as any printmaker has to contend with two different surfaces. One, such as copper, zinc, wood or limestone that helps form the image, and the other, blank paper, on which the final image is produced. I am fascinated by this dual-surface concept. A mirror image is etched that is later reproduced. In the course of dealing with multi surfaces, artists can explore and develop endless possibilities.

One can see the extension of these practices in meticulous rendering of my canvases as well. From the very beginning, black color haunted my brush which has given a way to crossed hatched charcoal lines in past decade.

Every painting of mine has a thematic preference counterbalanced with the visual elements. I try to achieve meditated realism, mainly thru male figure, charged with introverted emotions, simultaneously reiterating personal myth using spatial excess and sometimes repeated images. Facial expressions and parts of the body such as the hands, the back, and the torso have become an integral part of my visual vocabulary over the period of time.

Dreams and demands of male protagonist in my canvases intertwine with my real social life leaving lingering feeling of vulnerability in viewer’s mind rather than a shock." - Kamal Mitra

Kathy Smith is an Australian artist who works with several mediums including painting, installation, and sound. She graduated from the Sydney College of the Arts in 1985 with a degree in Visual Communications. Smith has received several awards such as the Sydney Morning Herald Traveling Arts Scholarship for Painting and the Desiderius Orban Art Award for Animation, as well as study grants from the Art Gallery of New South Wales. In addition to studying in her native Australia, Smith has studied abroad in France, Italy, USA, and Asia. Her work has been shown internationally in group and solo exhibitions. In 2002 Smith received a full-time Associate Professor position at USC and was tenured in 2003. At USC Smith chaired the John C Hench Division of Animation and Digital arts from 2004-2009 and during that time created a new BA in Animation and Digital Arts. Smith’s work Delirium was nominated for Best Experimental Short Film at the Australian Film Institute Awards. Indefinable Moods won the Best Animated Short award at the USA Film Festival in 2002 and the Computer Graphics International Award in 2001 and it was screened at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival. Smiths work is featured in "Animation Now" by Taschen Press and most recently in the Digital Visions chapter of the "Animation Bible" written by Dr Maureen Furniss. Smith is currently working on her research project Slippages. Her work can be seen at www.kathymoods.org

Kathy Smith’s work describes complex issues of life and living, of alienation and belonging, of real and surreal, of accord and discord. It is of paramount importance to this sensitive artist to express the non-linear nature of human psyche via motion, light and sound in her creations. Her work fabricates consciousness towards unique, individual narrative resulting from the brain’s retentions and filtering of physical and intellectual experiences. This artist does not treat art and life through isolation but deems it necessary to experience life in order to express herself. She goes through all the terror and agony of stepping into the 'unknown' in the process. Smith’s work in fine art and animation evolved as a byproduct of her thoughts and emotions, her readings, observations, beliefs, values and vast compilation of past experiences.

As a painter, Smith incorporates sound and surreal collage maps, which interrelate sequentially, into installations in order to eliminate a stagnant experience of the art. Smith’s further exploration of animation frees her to convey the thought process of a painting in real time, married with sound. Animation allows the artist to add a temporal dimension to imagery. Smith invites her audience to become a part of a painting by allowing them to see the brushstrokes and the evolving ideas within her artistic process. Her 2001 animation draws on a heritage of elemental imagery, tempered by psychological insights, portraying a dreamlike internal monologue with the potentiality of conveying neurological experiences through the prism of 3-D environments. Caught within the intricacies of subconscious with the undercurrent of intangible, the drawn or constructed image in Smith’s work becomes a means of deciphering all that is accumulated from eluding memory, creating a dialogue that gives meaning to mesmerizing psychological realm.

Smith’s installation Delirium (1987-1988) was a reaction to a newspaper article about the death of six travelers in Australia. She focuses on the psychosomatic delirium experienced by the travelers. Nine oil paintings hang from the ceiling while an animation is projected into the space. Smith further elevates the experience by creating a soundtrack of spoken interviews and sound effects, giving the audience a complete sensory experience. The temporal and aural stimulation allows the viewer to make connections between paintings, drawing him or her into the complexity of the art work.

Indefinable Moods (1996-2001) began as twenty-three oil paintings arranged randomly. Each painting represents unconscious imagery. Working with 3D software, Smith constructed a symbolic narrative with the images. She designed a system of arrhythmic sound to go with the animation in order to disorient the viewer and reflect the motif of destruction and recreation.

Artist Statement

"The conceptual relationship of philosophy, psychology and religion to art has always informed my work and in particular my approach to painting and animation. My work is an attempt to convey the mystery of existence through the non-linear narrative of dreams and gesture. I am fascinated with the human experience and how this is processed through our physical senses and interpreted via the neurological pathways in the brain, what images are retained and what narratives are formed during our conscious and unconscious moments. Structurally I am interested in the infinite possibilities of any one moment, the inner experience of time running simultaneously with the concurrent or divergent time of outer happenings.

Animation is a ritualistic practice that allows me to contemplate time and existence; it is a temporal and aural medium that illuminates the real and unconscious dream world. In the Renaissance, artists were striving to understand the physical world of nature and to perfect linear perspective in painting. Today, digital artists are trying to emulate natural and dream-like worlds through dynamic software systems, 3D modeling and digital paint effects. Digital media has seen the rebirth of animation as an art form for conveying these alternate dimensions, and through interactive media—animation in real-time¬¬—we can slip back and forth between the potential and actual connecting and disconnecting as we choose.

On a conceptual level the themes that have always inspired me are still the ones I am driven by today. Technically however there have been huge changes in the way I create my work. With Indefinable Moods completed in 2001, I chose to work with 3D software as it allowed me to collapse, reconstruct, and journey through a landscape of symbolic narrative. I approached the 3D environment as I did my painting, where symbolic narrative is not represented in a linear cause-and-effect mode.

The computer environment allowed me to work in a gallery-like space. I created elements of symbols and painting and manipulated these to a much greater degree than if I were only working on a two-dimensional surface. This was also reflected in the sound design. I purposely threw rhythms out of sync to disorient the viewer and to reflect the imagery’s constant collapse and reconstruction. I used Dolby Digital 5.1 SRD to create a physical sound-space and further enhance the shifts in mood by locating sounds around the theater. The evolution of digital media has extended the boundaries for my expression through animation and given me a more complete format to convey my ideas.

All of my films even the digital works are derived from physical organic media. Structuring through images is the starting point for all my work and sound. For me, images represent emotional experiences that move us in a powerful and visceral way and although an entire symbolic narrative exists in one painting alone, this landscape is not always adequately represented in a linear cause-and-effect mode. Perhaps this is why the best starting point to map intense experiences is to add the elements of sound and movement to static images. Originally as a painter I was always interested in communicating more than just a static image. The mental and conceptual process of painting is something that I have always tried to convey through the exhibition format itself. When exhibiting my work in an installation, I incorporate sound into the exhibition space; additionally, I construct collage maps to show how the images evolved and fitted together sequentially. The discovery of animation was a revelation for me: for the first time I could convey the internal thought processes of painting and drawing through a temporal medium." - Kathy Smith

HINDOL BRAHMBHATT (b. 1974, Gujarat, India) received a Post Diploma in Painting from Faculty of Fine Arts, M.S.U. Baroda in ‘98 and his B.F.A. from the same in ‘96.

Bhrahmbhatt is a recipient of ‘06 Silver Medal from the Bombay Art Society. He participated in 44th, 46th, 47th and 48th National Exhibition of Art; India. He was invited artist for “Salon d’autumne”, Paris, France, ’05; ’04, Triennale, India, “10th Biennale”, Dhaka, Bangladesh, ’02. He was merited National Scholarship by the Lalit Kala Akademi, Delhi, ’04, Gujarat State Lalitkala Akademi Fellowship,’01, Junior Fellowship Award (Visual Arts) from the Dept. of Culture, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Govt. of India, New Delhi, 2000, “Inlaks Foundation” Scholarship, New Delhi, ’99 and “Kanoria Center for Arts” Scholarship, Ahmedabad, ’98.

Brahmbhatt had several one man exhibitions including: “Chiaroscuro”, Karma Art Gallery, Ahmedabad, ‘09; “A Moment In Time”, ICIA, The Arts Trust, Mumbai, ‘08; “Truth of Opposite”, Sarjan Art Gallery, Baroda, ‘06; “Dedicated to Vinod Parul”at Contemporary Art Gallery, Ahmedabad, India.

Brahmbhatt participated in number of group shows such as “Virtual Hues”, Video Art Show, Ahmedabad, “Tribute to Bhupen Barmen”, M.S.U. Faculty Fine Arts, Baroda in the year of 2010, “Fifty Thousand To 1 Lakh”, Bank On Art Gallery, New Delhi; “1x1 India”, ’09, “Freshly Squeezed”, Suchitra Art Gallery, Mumbai; “Juxtaposition”, Red Earth Gallery, Baroda; “Trends & Trivia”, Visual Art Center, Hong Kong, ’08, “The Himalayan Odyssey”, Travancore Palace Art Gallery, New Delhi, “Young Guns”, ICIA, Mumbai; “Coming Together”, M.S. University, Baroda; “De-Sizing”, Bombay Art Gallery, Mumbai; “Whispering Palette”, Red Earth Gallery, Baroda, ’07, “Art on Wings”, Sarjan Art Gallery, Baroda; “Satya Graha – Tribute To The Spirit of 9-11-1906”, group shows atTravancore Gallery, New Delhi and Kizo Art Gallery, Durban, South Africa; “Tribute To Rembrandt”, Lemongrasshopper Art Gallery, Ahmedabad; “Wise Man’s Drink”, Lemongrasshopper Art Gallery, Ahmedabad; “Merging Culture”, Sarjan Art Gallery, Mumbai; “Art Edge”, Habitat Art Center, Delhi; “Trends & Talent”, Galerie 88, Kolkatta, in ’06; “Indian Contemporary Art”, National Museum Art Gallery Yangon, Myanmar; “V12 Group Show”, Rabindrabhaven, New Delhi; “FEB Show 2005 – International”, Uttarayan Bayer ABS Art Gallery, Baroda; “Pepari Show”, Sarjan Art Gallery, Baroda; Kaleidoscope Gallery, Baroda; Group Show, Delhi, Rabindabhaven; “Group Show”, Bayer ABS Art Gallery, Baroda in ‘05. Group Show at GOA & Lucknow, organized by Gujarat Lalitkala Akademi; “Garden of Roses”, an Exhibition of Contemporary Art, Sarjan Art Gallery, Baroda, in the year of ‘04. Group exhibition at Birla Akademi, Mumbai, ’03, “Artists Against Violence”, Baroda; Nehru Center, Mumbai, ’02. “Affordable Art,” Kanoria Center For Art, Ahmedabad, ’98 and ’02. Millennium All India Art Exhibition, AIFACS, New Delhi; “Udaipur Through Drawing”, Rajasthan, ’01. Regional Art Exhibition, Lalitkala Kendra, Lucknow, ’00 and ’01. “Chatak” Exhibition, Nehru Center, Mumbai; VCCI, Baroda; “Vignettes of Style”, Art Folio, Chandigarh, ’99. Dhumimal Art Gallery, New Delhi, ’98. Gujarat Youth Art Exhibition, Madhya Pradesh Kala Parishad, Bhopal; “50 Years of Independence”, Faculty of Fine Arts, Baroda, ’07.

Brahmbhatt has participated in many camps throughout Indian and in places around the world such as Bali, Java, Sumatra, Russia, Spain, Vietnam, Combodia, Thailand, Singapore and Turkey.

Artist lives and works in Ahmedabad, India.

Artist Statement

"I believe in truth of opposites. For every argument, there is bound to be a counter argument that can be equally valid.

I treat my works as a documentation of historical reality in contemporary context. While doing so, I look for clues of social changes in various aspects and domains of life. Thus emerges a universe that the viewers can identify with, albeit from a completely new perspective! However, I leave it to them to interpret my work and let them draw their own conclusions.

Before starting work, I experiment with the images drawn from past & present references till I deduce the desired effect. I use happy bright visuals of urban life to depict one side of life, whereas iconic portraits craved on dark charred wood, represents their hardships. I try recreating & relocating the known & the imagined visual references, filling them with alternative meanings.

I try conveying through my creations, a resonating with an outward simplicity of the subject matter that subtly hides and progressively heightens inherent complexity of the message & drama; I chose to distil visual vocabulary to a minimum level for a maximum effect." - Hindol Brahmbhatt

Born in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Mahjabin Majumdar received Bachelor of Fine Arts from Kala Bhavana, Santiniketan.

Select exhibitions that Majumdar participated in include,“Sound Of Silence” Sarjan Art Gallery, Baroda, in the year 2009 - “ Mother-Child”, Gallery Kolkata, “Outsiders Within”, Ganges Art Gallery, Kolkata, Asian Contemporary Art Summit New York, ‘Silt of Sentiment’, Tamarind Art Gallery New York, ‘Bridge 2 Worlds’, The Menier Gallery,London, in the year 2008 - ‘Beyond Convention’, Anant Art Gallery, “Paintings on Small Format”, Kolkata Art Gallery, Exhibition of Indian Contemporary Art in Kuwait & Cairo, Organized by Lalit Kala Akademy, New Delhi, “The Art of Santiniketan”, Royal College of Art, London, “Art from Bengal” Gallery Art Element, New Delhi, “Synchrome-Mumbai”, Tao Art Gallery, Mumbai, in the year 2007 - “Agony and Ecstasy” Organized by Birla Academy of Art & Culture, “Synchrome-4”, Akar Prakar Art Gallery, Kolkata, “A Brush with Durga” Kolkata Art Gallery, “A Brush with Durga” Organized by Akar Prakar, “Of Images and Illusion” Tamarind Art Gallery, New York, “Intimate Thoughts….Pristine Fables”, Akar Prakar, in the year of 2006 - “Shrishti”, Kanishka Art Gallery, Group Show, at Birla Academy Art & Culture, Calcutta, “Prabhat”, India Habitat Center, New Delhi, “Santiniketan Show”, Sarjan Art Gallery, Baroda, “Bengal and Beyond”, Art ‘n’ Soul Gallery, India Habitat Center, Delhi, “The City of Joy”, Priya Shree Art Gallery, Mumbai, 10th Harmony Show, Mumbai,’05, “Young Santiniketan Today”, Guild Art Gallery, ’98, Group Show at Jehangir Art Gallery Mumbai, ’96, Annual Exhibition Birla Academy of Fine Arts& Culture, ’93, Tenth Young Artists Art Exhibition, Bangladesh, ‘ 94, International Independent Exhibition of Print, Kanagawa, Japan, ’92 and ‘The Egyptian Print Triennial’, ’93. Majumdar’s works are in collections such as Universal Graphic Museum- Egypt, Kanagawa Prefectural Gallery-Japan and Ministry of Foreign Affair,-Netherlands.

Artist Statement

"My works belong to the world where present is juxtaposed with memories of past. They are often autobiographical in nature. Fleeting imageries from the past as well as the stark realities of present are constructed from layers of broken colors, now over lapped with each other, now lost behind the mist of memories or sudden strike with all their vibrant hue. There’s a continuous weaving of creation & re-creation, discovery & re-discovery of my own thoughts goes on from one work to another. The usage of motifs in my works, mostly belongs to the natural world. The organic growth of natural form, the innermost secrets of their body, be it a human or a bird or an anthropomorphic animal they all deals with the duality of life & death, conformity & contradiction.

To me, it’s an ongoing journey through a forest which leads to many a different path through which I encounter the usual & unexpected, ambiguity & tension, enchantment & peril, it is the mysterious journey called life that attracts me the most So, at the end of the day it is not important whether I have reached the destination or not, but the journey itself matters most to me." - Mahjabin Majumdar

M. SASHIDHARAN (b. Kerala, 1951) received his M.F.A. in Painting (mural design) from M.S. University in Baroda in 1988. He received his B.F.A. in Painting in 1984 at the College of Fine Arts, Trivandrum, Kerala from where he also received a National Diploma in 1983.

In 2000, Sashidharan received the Kerala State Award for Painting. He is also recipient of the Charles Wallace Fellowship studying glass at Edinburgh College of Art, in 1996. In 1989 he was invited as a guest student at the Academy of Fine Arts in Stockholm, under Cultural Exchange between India and Sweden on a Scholarship from the Swedish Institute, Hogskolan, Sweden.

Sashidharan participated in number of solo exhibitions over the years such as in the year of 2009, “Cutting Chai,” at the Sarjan Art Gallery in Baroda, “Sky Keepers’ Diaries,” at the Museum gallery, Mumbai ,2008,“The Edge,” at Rabindra Bhavan Gallery, New Delhi, 2007, "Lagetee" an exhibition of Baroda School, Fine Arts Company Gallery, Mumbai, 1999, "Black Boxes and Glass", a solo exhibition of works in glass at Lakeeren Art Gallery, Bombay, 1997-98, a solo exhibition of paintings at Jehangir Art Gallery, Bombay, 1997, a solo exhibition at the Sophia College Art Gallery in Bombay, from 1993 to 1994 and in 1991, And in 1989, a solo exhibition at Gallery 7 in Bombay.

Sashidharan’s select group shows include: “Tribute to Bhupen” at Fine Arts Gallery in Vadodara, 2010, “Keep Drawing” at Gallery Espace, New Delhi; “Maps, Metaphors and Mythologies“: 4 person show at Tamarind Art Gallery, New York, 2008, “Keep Drawing” group show of Drawings by Pundole Art Gallery,at Museum Gallery, Mumbai; “Beyond Credos,” at Birla Academy, Calcutta; “Still Life Instill, ” Hacienda Gallery, Mumbai, 2007, “Is My Love like a Red, Red Rose?”, at Sarjan Art Gallery Baroda; “Works in Glass” a group show with Swedish glass artists in Sweden and at Visual arts Gallery, Habitat Centre, New Delhi; “Real 2006,” at Visual Arts Gallery, Habitat Centre, New Delhi; “Paper Flute,” Gallery Espace, New Delhi; “Two X Two” at Sarjan Art Gallery, Baroda, 2006. “Double Enders“, traveling show- Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Kochi; “Metamorphosis”, by Paper Wasp Studio Gallery at Asian Cultural Centre, New York, USA, 2005, “Tribute to Bhupen Khakhar” at Tao Art Gallery, 2004, “Two Painters” a two person show of paintings at Artists’ Centere, Mumbai, 2002, “East, West, North, South-a group show“, Tao Art Gallery, Mumbai, 2001, “Portfolio”, a group exhibition of prints, Art Core Gallery, Baroda; “Southern Paradigm,” Lakeeren Art Gallery, Mumbai, 2000, "Edge of the Century," at Vadehra Art Gallery,New Delhi; "Creative Process" at Guild Art Gallery, Bombay, 1999, “All India Drawing Exhibition,” AIFACS, New Delhi, 1996, “Crossing the Black Waters,” a touring Exhibition of Asian and British – Asian Artists in the U.K., 1992-93, “Six Young Artists Exhibition,” the ICCR Gallery, New Delhi, 1988, and in 1987 he was selected as one of the 'Six Young Artists’ to participate in the Group Exhibition in Sweden, during the Festival of Indian Sweden.

Sashidharan has also participated in several residencies, collaborations and camps. In 2010 he did theatre design for a Guajarati play by P.S Chari, Vadodara, a Glass workshop at Uttaryan Art Centre, Baroda, 2009, attended artist camp at Surat; Digital workshop at Uttarayan Art Centre, Baroda, 2008, “Site Specific Installation” workshop by SANDARBH at the Faculty of Fine Arts, Baroda; “Artist Camp,” trip to Spain, organized by Sun Art, Baroda; “Artist Camp,” at Jaspur, Vadodara, organized by “Alekhya“, Baroda; Visiting faculty, School of Art, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia, 2007, “Glass Sambandh,” a collaborative project between Swedish and Indian glass artists, Sweden, 2004, at University of Lancashire, collaborated with a British glass artist and completed two site-specific works in glass in a mosque, Preston, as part of the “Year of the Artist” project, Arts Council U.K., 2000.

Pratul Dash uses a wide range of media to explore the social and ecological concerns of modern India. Born and raised in rural Orissa, Dash came to New Delhi to study painting at the College of Art, graduating in 1998. The transition from his simple life to the complex urban environment of New Delhi made a strong impression on the artist. His paintings and videos are an examination of the destruction brought by urbanization and globalization on both the natural landscape and the human psyche.

Dash’s select solo shows include, 2010 Human spaces, Sarah khan contemporary, Switzerland, 2008 Proxy horizon, palette art gallery, New Delhi, 2007 Neo-Istoria, Palette Art Gallery, New Delhi, 2004 Unidee in residency, Cittadelarte, Italy, 2003 Krishna Collections Art Gallery, New Delhi. His important group shows in India and abroad include, 2010- NEXT sponsored by India contemporary art at Amelia Jones contemporary art, Hong Kong, 2009 - Vicissitudes of the constructed image, Tangerine art space, Bangalore, 2009- Lost in an urban maze, Palette Art Gallery, 2008- The promissory maze, 1 x 1 Art Gallery, Dubai, Live wires, visual art centre Kennedy road, Hong Kong, Time Transcendent ’08-‘09, Tamarind Art, New York, Destruction, Palette Art Gallery, New Delhi, Walk the Line, Avanthay Contemporary, Zurich, Switzerland.

Other group exhibitions include Far & Wide… Everywhere You Look, Chawla Art Gallery, New Delhi, 2009; Nature vs. Modernity, India Fine Art, Mumbai, 2009; Towards A New Viewership/Audience, presented by Art and Deal, New Delhi and Bakul Art Foundation, Bhubaneshwar at Art Konsult, New Delhi, 2009; Entity, MEC Art Gallery, New Delhi, 2009; New Perspectives of India, Avanthay Contemporary, Zurich, 2009; Uncovered, Sans Tache Art Gallery, Mumbai, 2008; Deeper Than Skin, DAIRA Center for Arts and Culture, Hyderabad, 2008; Bricks and Mortar, Hacienda Art Gallery, Mumbai, 2008; Metropolis And The Self, Art Alive, New Delhi, 2008; Representation 4, Triva Contemporary, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, 2008; Desaturation, Palette Art Gallery, New Delhi, 2008; Miniature Format Show, SansTache Art Gallery, Mumbai; Flow Freeze Focus, Gallery Kolkata, 2007; Emblems and Urban Regeneration, Garnier Contemporary Arts, London, 2007; Imaging India, Henry Moor Gallery, Royal College of Art, London, 2007; Hariyali Teej, Monsoon show curated by Himanshu Verma, New Delhi, 2006 and 2007; Harvest, Arushi Arts, New Delhi, 2007; Generation Next, Art Alive Gallery, IHC, 2007; Independent India, Ati Art Gallery, Alliance Franchise, 2007; Of Images and Illusions; Tamarind Art, New York, 2007; Modern to Contemporary, Gallery Kolkota, 2007; Real 2007, Rabindra Bhawan, New Delhi, 2007; Papyrus, Suruchi Art Gallery, New Delhi, 2007; Digressing Domains, curated by Sushma K. Bahl at Lalit Kala Akademi, 2006; A Compensation For What Has Been Lost, curated by Jhony M.L., Travancore Art Gallery, New Delhi, 2006; Arts in Art, curated by Vinod Bhardwaj, Shridharani Gallery, 2006; Shifting Focus, Air Gallery, London, 2006; Infinite-Us Unbounded, Planet Arts, 2006; and Art in Cinema, curated by Vinod Bhardwaj at India Habitat Center, New Delhi, 2004 and 2006.

Pratul Dash has also worked at several residencies: Artist’s Camp in Switzerland, 2007; All India Artist Camp, Udyapur, 2006; Holi Camp, curated by Red Earth, 2006; Nuga Mikha (Inner Eyes) international artist residency program, Nepal, 2004; Gouranga Charan Foundation Painter’s Camp, Bhubaneswar, 1995; and INCEF Painter’s Camp, Bhubaneswar, 1993. He has been the recipient of many prestigious art awards and scholarships: the Inlaks scholarship, 2004; Industrial Literature Society, Biella, Italy, 2005; M. F. Hussain Award from College of Art, New Delhi, 1998; Silver Jubilee Award of Utkal University, Bhubaneswar, 1997; and the 11th All India Exhibition Award of South Central Zone Cultural Center, Nagpur, 1997.

Artist Statement

"As an artist living in the metropolitan city such as Delhi, I enjoy experimenting with several visual strands including painting, sculpture, video, performance, photographic, and nature art. The diversity of my aesthetic engagement is placed within the fibres of contemporary socio-cultural and various aesthetic practices. The world versus the self is probed; the works become a forum of critical inquiry, engaging the politics of the times. Some of my artistic concerns are rooted within environmental issues, ecology, urbanization, migration, ethnic and class conflicts, popular culture, and architecture as the site of middle class aspirations." - Pratul Dash