Pichvai : Traditions and Beyond

Pooja Singhal is an Art Revivalist and Curator. She represents the third generation of an industrialist family that is deeply rooted in Udaipur, Rajasthan. An art aficionado and philanthropist, Pooja leads initiatives directed towards development of traditional art forms and welfare of Indian Artisans. With a creative bent of mind and an entrepreneurial spirit, Pooja has had a keen eye for art and fashion. After setting up RUH (Delhi-based clothing brand for women) in 2004, her inclination towards art took route and she began working towards revival of Pichvai art forms with the traditional artisan families based in Udaipur. Pooja held her first exhibition to showcase over 80 Pichvai paintings in New Delhi in 2015, participated at India Art Fair 2016 and curated a special presentation at Kochi Muziris Biennale in 2016-2017. After completing her Master’s Degree in Business Administration from KATZ, University of Pittsburg USA and Bachelor Degree in Economics from Shriram College, Delhi University, she did a stint in Banking. She has also been an involved member with Delhi Crafts Council and the Sahachari Foundation (Mumbai based NGO), Patron at FICA and the Collectors Programme at India Art Fair. In 2018, Pooja set up the Tradition & Beyond Foundation that will look at reviving forgotten art forms and traditions.

Desmond Lazaro is a painter whose work reinvents miniature painting, the tradition he was trained in. His is a boundary-pushing art that makes this traditional craft seem especially current. Born in Leeds, Lazaro came to India in 1990 to study at the M.S.U, Baroda, as a Commonwelath Scholar. Captivated by the historic painting traditions of Rajasthan he stayed on to study for twelve years under late Jaipur Master painter Bannu Ved Pal Sharma. Lazaro also submitted a PHD thesis on the Pichvai painting tradition at the Prince’s School of Traditional Arts in London. Later published as ‘Methods, Materials and Symbolism in the Pichavai Painting Tradition of Rajasthan’ Mapin 2005. Lazaro’s work, as well as his personal history, spans East and West, and he has exhibited extensively in India, UK, Dubai, Hong Kong and Germany. Since 2000, he has showcased his work with the Pichvai tradition at British Council and British High Commission, New Delhi, Museum Rietberg, Zurich, Museum of Asiatic, Nice and at The Art Institute of Chicago. In 2016-17 his solo presentation ‘The Promise’ was featured at Kochi-Muziris Biennale. In 2018 he has participated in several exhibitions including Sunaparanta, Goa, Gallery Odyssey, Mumbai, ‘Planetary Planning’, Dhaka Art Summit and currently ‘Hashiya, The Margin’, Bikaner House, New Delhi.

Malvika Singh is the Publisher of SEMINAR, a journal of ideas. She is a member of the Rajasthan Chief Minister's Advisory Council, in the domain of Arts, Culture and Tourism. She is also the author of NEW DELHI - making of a capital; PERPETUAL CITY; amongst others, and has edited a city series under the SEMINAR imprint. She is Consulting Editor to LIMITED EDITIONS, an imprint of Academic Foundation, publishers. Malvika Singh was Decorated as a Dame in the Civil Merit Honours list of the King of Spain 2009.