Sudhir Patwardhan
INDIAN CONTEMPORARY ARTIST
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- Born in 1949 in Pune, Maharashtra, India
- Lives and works in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
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UNDERSTANDING THE ARTIST
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Patwardhan is sharply concerned with how urbanization has brought about an expeditious change and how, one can no longer cherish the beauty of nature, as one could do in the past. The expressions in his artworks are deliberately vague. Without making any statements the artist explores the changing equation within the family. There are undercurrents of happiness, expectations and disappointments that bind the figures together. The situation is familiar and inevitable, the predicaments of which families manage with love and patience.
Sudhir Patwardhan’s oeuvre can be described as a prodigious overview of the urban and the natural environment. His work might well be considered a form of Social Realism as it depicts the mundane, unprivileged lives in the chaotic cityscapes and scenes from the bustling street with supreme sensitivity and intensity. Issues such as materiality, isolation and fragmentation are dealt with through his artwork. His sketches and drawings engage intimately with ordinary people.
Patwardhan has continued to evolve his figurative style in expressionist drawings on one hand and large complex oil paintings of town and cityscapes on the other. His charcoal drawings on paper are often the instant representation of the day-to-day episodes from working class people on city streets, while some being more or less sketchy studies done from photographs. His faces can be seen with a certain intimacy. Detail of an eye or a nose, or a tilt of head captures his interest. These brief sketches give him a feeling of satisfaction as they take on a sociological role or an autobiographical one.
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SELECTED IMAGES
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Sudhir Patwardhan, Woman in a Crowd, 2011, acrylic on paper, 42 x 54 in
Sudhir Patwardhan, Untitled, 2006, acrylic on canvas, 71.5 x 96 in
Sudhir Patwardhan, Untitled, 1970, oil on canvas, 39.5 x 23.5 in
Sudhir Patwardhan, The Clearing, 2007, acrylic on canvas, 54 x 72 in
Sudhir Patwardhan, Sleep, 1998, acrylic and cloth on canvas, 40 x 42 in
Sudhir Patwardhan, Riot, 1996, acrylic on canvas, 60 x 33 in
Sudhir Patwardhan, Ruben’s Three Graces, 1987, pen and ink wash on paper, 10.5 x 14.5 in
Sudhir Patwardhan, Rabodi, 2003, acrylic on canvas, 48 x 92 in
Sudhir Patwardhan, Gray Chamber, 2010, acrylic on canvas, 80 x 65 in
Sudhir Patwardhan, Untitled, 2002, acrylic on canvas, 19.5 x 16 in