Materiality, Form, Context

Artist: Atul Dodiya

October 21, 2005 | 6.30 pm
Little Theatre, National Centre for the Performing Arts, Mumbai

Atul Dodiya, born in 1959 in Mumbai, studied at the Sir J.J. School of Art, Mumbai and Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Paris.  One of the finest artists to emerge in modern times, he is known especially for his unusual use of popular images and everyday objects in his artworks. Armed with a superb command over a whole range of painting techniques and styles, Dodiya creates inventive images that are metaphorically suggestive. His lavish visual vocabulary refers to religious paintings, movie posters, billboards, calendar art and the art histories of the world.

In this presentation, the artist will discuss his works done during the years 2001 to 2005, which were largely exhibited in Europe and the USA, and not in India. These works proved to be a major shift in his artistic career, for Dodiya departed from his earlier apolitical approach, and created works that displayed potent socio-political concerns. Explorative and experimental in material and medium, the artist chose specific mediums for each specific theme. The artist will share with the audience, the dilemmas and questions faced in this process, why he chose the materials like metal rolling shutters, wooden cabinets and why certain works were done on paper with crushed charcoal. Dodiya will also share his interest in the different arts of the world and its influence in his art-making throughout his career.