A k b a r P a d a m s e e : The Philosophical Artist

All artists resist classification, resist the academic impulse to be boxed up and to ‘explain’ their work. Akbar Padamsee foils the explainers, the amateur taxonomists by never standing still, never allowing his art to stagnate. In a career spanning over six decades, Padamsee has never been afraid to experiment, whether with landscapes, nudes, or figures; with colour, form, technology; with mediums as diverse as painting, sculpting, filmmaking, writing and photography. Born in Bombay in 1928, Padamsee moved to Paris as a young man. His work quickly found favour among the French capital’s critics and cognoscenti, before Padamsee made a triumphant debut in his native city in 1954. It heralded a lifetime of travel and acclaim: he has received the prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru fellowship, the Kalidasa Samman by the Madhya Pradesh government and, in 2010, the Padma Bhushan. None of it has made him an establishment figure. In his 80s, he is still pushing boundaries, still working.

A freelance journalist since the mid 70s Meher Pestonji has a wide spectrum of interests. She has been a theatre critic, art writer, book review columnist, and written extensively on street children, housing rights for slum dwellers and anti-communalism issues. In 1999 Harper Collins India published her first collection of short stories titled ‘Mixed Marriage and other Parsi Stories’. This was followed by ‘Pervez’ a novel set against the backdrop of the demolition of the Babri Masjid resulting in communal riots all over India. Her second novel ‘Sadak Chhaap’ traces life on the streets for a homeless child. Her play ‘Piano for Sale’ featuring two women, opened at the National Centre for the Performing Arts in 2005. Her second play ‘Feeding Crows’ won the South India segment of the British Council/BBC Radio Playwriting Competition in 2008. Meher is currently working on a play as well as a fresh collection of short stories."

Sudhir Patwardhan was born in 1949 in Pune. He graduated in medicine from the Armed Forces Medical College and worked as a Radiologist in Thane from 1975 to 2005. He began to paint seriously since his medical college days. His first one person show was held in 1979. Since then his work has been seen regularly in exhibitions in India and abroad. Recent exhibitions and participations include - 'Line by Line' an exhibition of Patwardhan's drawings at gallery 88, Kolkata; Kochi-Muzris Biennale 2014; 'Seven Decades of Indian Drawing' at IGNCA, New Delhi; Modernist Art from India, Rubin Museum, New York. 2012; ‘Social Fabric’ at INIVA, London; and IFA -Galerie Stuttgart, Germany,2013; A one person show ‘Route Maps’ at The Guild and Jehangir Art Gallery in 2012; A monograph on his work, ‘The Complicit Observer’ written by Ranjit Hoskote, was published in 2004. This was followed in 2007 by another book by Ranjit Hoskote on Patwardhan’s drawings – ‘The Crafting of Reality’. In 2012 the Mumbai theater group Awishkar staged a play ‘Chitragoshti’ based on Patwardhan’s paintings. The play is written and directed by Sushma deshpande, Patwardhan’s works are in the permanent collection of National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi and Mumbai; Roopankar Museum, Bhopal; Jehangir Nicholson Collection, Mumbai; Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, Delhi; Lalit Kala Akademi, Delhi; Punjab University Museum, Chandigarh; Lalit Kala Akadami, Kochi; the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, USA and other prominent private and public collections. The artist lives and works in Thane, near Mumbai.

Saryu V. Doshi - Ph.D is a research scholar in Indian Classical and Modern Art, she has published articles and books on art history and culture, edited journals, and curated exhibitions. She has lectured in various museums and universities in India and abroad. She has served on the Boards of various Universities, Academic and Cultural Institutions as well as government institutions. In 1999 she was awarded the Padmashri by the Government of India, and the “Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity” by the Italian Government in 2008."

Pheroza J. Godrej, an art-historian, is a Ph.D. in Ancient Indian Culture. She is a member of the Board of Studies for the Department of Ancient Indian Culture of St. Xavier’s College (Autonomous), Mumbai. She is the founder of Cymroza Art Gallery, which was established in 1971. She has written/co-edited several publications and curated several highly acclaimed exhibitions in leading National and International Museums. She is a member of the Apex Committee of the National Gallery of Modern Art and a former Chairperson of the Advisory Committee of the National Gallery of Modern Art, Mumbai. She is a trustee of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for The Arts, New Delhi. She is the Chairperson of the Museum Society of Bombay. She is a life member of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), and an advisory member of the Trust’s Parsi Heritage Cell (New Delhi). She is a trustee of the Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum and a member of the Advisory Board of the Vinod & Saryu Doshi Foundation. She is a member of the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) Women Empowerment Committee; she is associated with the annual Jamnalal Bajaj Awards as a member of the Selection Committee for the Development and Welfare of Women. She is President of the National Society of the Friends of the Trees; former Vice-President of the Bombay Natural History Society; a member of the Executive Board of the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology (ATREE); and co-President of the Maharashtra Nature Park Society, Mumbai. She is a trustee of Impact India Foundation, whose mission it is to make India disability-free, and the Sea Cadet Corp India.