I started painting even before I remember my existence as a child. I am coming from a traditional carpenter family. Large plywood and panels were my canvases. One of the teachers from the art school used to visit our workshop for some assistance, he saw me painting the boxes. These boxes were supposed to be painted plain black; I used to draw something before I apply plain paint. Seeing this, the teacher invited me to visit the art school and I was fascinated to see the students and the works displayed in the library. I decided to go through formal training in Art, and graduated G. D. Art (Drawing and Painting) from Abhinav Kala Mahavidyala, Pune specializing in portrait painting, in the year 1992.
Ever since I joined the art school, I have come across a multitude of questions, mostly unanswered by my professors. There was always an emphasis on following the works of past students and the traditions, blindly. I had started to doubt about my decision to join the art school, luckily the art school had a wonderful library and I was introduced to the real world of art, which was contrary to the teachings or preaching of the art school. I was introduced to the great masters, modernists and the greatest of all Jackson Pollock along with the several critics like Herbert Read.
I have always tried to know myself through the medium of art. Observing my work and the upbringing, it is the large size space that brings immense excitement to my work. It is also relevant when I studied Indian art, both tribal and classical; I found art on canvas or in frames is not an Indian tradition. Art in India was always borderless or live in.
Last 14 years I have succeeded to prove myself as one of the serious young artists in the country. I also had gone through various therapies designed by me for a dialogue within my work and myself. I consider myself immense fortunate, as I had been able to share my difficulties in art with artists like, Prabhakar Barwe, Akbar Padamsee and M. F. Husain.
Recent works are the result of a process, which started a few years ago. It had been a wonderful journey. I believe ‘the structure’ in any art is the soul of the artist. It is my practice that I go through thousands of drawings to form a structural base. The very essence of the responses to the given space is the key element in my work.
