Having studied at fine arts at School of Art, Delhi Polytechnic, New Delhi, he was trained under the great painters such as Somnath Hore, Rakesh Mehra, Dhanaraj Bhagat, and B.C. Sanyal; but it was Albani Sen under whose guidance did Manjit Bawa develop his artistic talent. Later on, he went on to continue his studies in London where he studied Silk-Screen Printing from the London School of Printing, Warden, Essex, UK; where he also worked as an expert silk screen printer.
A figurative artist right from the beginning of his career, his various experimentations and attempts with the brush was accepted on a large scale and won him success, fame and worldwide recognition.
His creations could easily be distinguished by their colours. He was one of the first painters to break down the monotony of the dominant grays and browns. It is symbolic to say that he played with colours like the ochre of sunflowers, the green of paddy fields, the red of the sun, the blue of the mountain sky.
While he never worked on demand, but followed his heart and mind; he believed that by using minimum essentials he could extract the maximum effect of his work.
While he experimented for decades on different styles and techniques, some of his experimentation included Tantric art forms and Pahari miniature paintings. A central theme behind most of his paintings was his constant attempt at capturing Indian mythology and the Sufi school of Islam poetry in his paintings.
In fact, Manjit was a firm believer of the Sufi traditions and advocated to live in peace and harmony; which was very evident in his paintings. Even the most violent of his paintings showed some sense of peace and calmness.
He drew his earliest inspirations form the mythological stories of Mahabharata, Ramayana, and the Puranas; poetry of a Punjabi poet Waris Shah, folk traditions, legends of Krishna, and readings from the Guru Granth Sahib. His paintings always have reflected pristine innocence, peace and calmness; a reflection of his memories and beliefs.
In fact, mythological figures, flute, birds and animals were constant appearances in many of his acclaimed paintings like Krishna and the Bull, Ranjha, Govardhan, After 84, Heer, etc.
Many of his paintings reflected his uncontrolled sense of humour and challenged his viewers with a dark sense of humour. One such painting that indicated this was his painting portraying Lord Krishna devouring a banana. His paintings were meditative and reflective; layered with sensuality and eroticism. However, the sensuality in his paintings would never be loud and visceral. Sensuality was usually subtle and suggestive such as through the posture or glance. He never hesitated to use figures of Kali and Shiva in his canvases; as he deemed them to be the icons of the country.
He received numerous prizes for his artwork including the Sailoz Prize, New Delhi, the National Award, Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi All India Exhibition of Prints and Drawings, Chandigarh 1st Bharat Bhawan Biennale, Bhopal.
He participated in a significant amount of solo and group shows; inclusive of the Bose Pacia Modern One Man Show, Solos in Hong Kong and in London, in Berlin with Ravinder Reddy and in Spain, Washington DC, Singapore, San Sebastian apart from most of the major cities across India.
Having suffered from a prolonged illness, Manjit Bawa passed away in 2008 after suffering from a stroke.
While he made a mark for himself with his larger than life vibrant paintings that were filled with mythology, Sufi spirituality and nature; Manjit Bawa has left behind a legacy of artwork and a unique approach to handling colour and forms no other artist has ever left behind.
About the Author:
Manjit Bawa is a known Indian painter whose paintings always reflect peace and harmony, his experiments with brush has won him success and recognition worldwide.
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