Monday 6 March 2017

The man who became art himself

For a man who was designated as a genius by someone like M F Hussain, a life of obscurity and silence may come as a surprise to many. But Vasudeo Santu Gaitonde preferred the silence over a conversation and his passion for art over all the delicacies of life.

One of India's biggest contributions to the world of art was born to a family from Bicholim in 1924 in Nagpur. In their quest to change their fortunes, the family moved to Bombay in the late '20s. Gai, as he was popularly called by his friends, was more inclined towards using the paint brush than pen to craft his career and, despite his father's disdain, indulged in painting. In 1948, Gaitonde received his diploma from the prestigious J J School of Art. By then, he had already become a member of the Progressive Artists Group, which included the likes of M F Hussain, Francis Newton Souza, and S H Raza.

The group participated in several exhibitions through which art lovers got the first impressions of Gaitonde's works. He travelled to eastern Europe in 1956 during the Indian art exhibition, and received the first prize at the Young Asian Artists Exhibition, Tokyo, in 1957. His work was part of exhibitions held at the Graham Art Gallery, New York, in 1959 and 1964, following which he received the Rockefeller Fellowship that year. The government of India conferred a Padma Shri on him in 1971.

The decorated artist meandered from his initial figurative style to ultimately projecting his ideas on canvas in an abstract form. People who follow Gaitonde's work closely attribute it to the influence of Swiss painter, Paul Klee. The figurative art started getting replaced during the '60s by a more abstract art form, but the painter himself never liked the title of abstractionist.


"If a viewer 'understands' my painting, then that understanding is his own, not mine," Gaitonde had once famously said, thus giving an insight into his idea of being abstract. Gaitonde believed in clarity and calmness of the mind before putting onto canvas, and thus chose to be a man of few words. He never married.


"Everything starts from silence. The silence of the brush. The silence of the canvas. The silence of the painting knife," he once said in an interview. To achieve his level of calmness, Gaitonde absorbed the teaching of the Zen school of Mahayana Buddhism. He attributed the teaching of Zen to his work as well, stating that it helped him in understanding nature, which formed the main component of his masterpieces. He also took inspiration from the teaching of J Krishnamurti, the famous philosopher.


His quest for silence transcended into his decision to stop painting in 1988. Thus, a career spanning almost four decades and 41 art pieces concluded. The paintings were Gaitonde's way of expressing himself, and he shared with his friends that he has said all that he wanted to.


The painter spent his final years at a small place in Nizamudin East, in New Delhi. He had met with an accident in 1984, which troubled him for the remainder of his life. Gaitonde died in 2001, but his work made him immortal years after his mortal remains were vanquished. "To me, he is one of the best and greatest artists of India," says Hanuman Kambli, the renowned Goan artist.


Four years after his death, he became the first Indian contemporary painter whose work was sold for more than 85 lakh at the Osians art auction in Mumbai. Another of his untitled painting shattered the record of the most expensive art piece by an Indian artist, when it was auctioned for more than 22 crore at the Christie's debut auction in India in 2013. The announcement made waves across the globe, even forcing the nation to take a look at his work. Many of his artworks, which were till then lying in warehouses in Nagpur, were carefully restored and are today showcased at some of the most prestigious houses of art like the National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai and the Museum of Modern Art, New York, among others.

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Resource :http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/goa/the-man-who-became-art-himself/articleshow/57471506.cms

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