|
|
Pilloo Pochkhanawala
|
|
|
A pioneering figure in the field of modern Indian sculpture, Pilloo Pochkhanawala was never formally trained in art. Working in the advertising world, she turned to sculpture only after a commercial assignment took her to Europe in 1951. “Of course, once abroad, I took the opportunity of visiting the major museums. I did take in the vast collections of paintings, but every time I looked at the major works of modern sculptors I felt struck by a...
Read More
A pioneering figure in the field of modern Indian sculpture, Pilloo Pochkhanawala was never formally trained in art. Working in the advertising world, she turned to sculpture only after a commercial assignment took her to Europe in 1951. “Of course, once abroad, I took the opportunity of visiting the major museums. I did take in the vast collections of paintings, but every time I looked at the major works of modern sculptors I felt struck by a visual bolt. Evidently, it was my sudden grasp of the third dimension that left me mortified by the sculptures…I was seized by the fear of the challenge of tackling something so difficult” (as quoted in S.V. Vasudev, Pilloo Pochkhanawala, Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi, 1981).
Pochkhanawala’s body of work, ranging from intricate theatrical sets to monumental public sculptures, explores and applies various materials, textures and techniques innovatively to engage with the concepts of time, space and nature, in a “rare marriage between form and content”, as Anahite Contractor notes. “Since Pochkhanawala first began to sculpt in 1951 at the relatively late age of twenty-eight, her obsession was to unscramble the tight boundaries of space which were available to her through the time she existed in. Her arrangement of motifs, the strategic use of negative space around them, the aesthetic disproportions and, occasionally, her violent distortions even within the abstract mode she chose to work with, render to Pochkhanawala’s sculpture a keen dynamism even today” (“Pilloo Pochkhanawala: Disharmony and Inner Mechanics”, Expressions & Evocations: Contemporary Women Artists of India, Marg Publications, Mumbai, 1996).
Born in Mumbai in 1923, Pochkhanawala receiving her Bachelor’s degree in Commerce from Bombay University. Since the early 1950s, she has held several solo exhibitions of her work, including shows in Bombay from 1955 to 1978 and in Delhi in 1965, 1968 and 1982. Her group shows include exhibitions at the Nash Gallery, University of Minnesota, in 1980; in Minnetonka, USA, in 1979; New Delhi in 1979 and 1970; Middleheim, Belgium, in 1974; Belgrade, Bangkok and Tokyo in 1967; and in London in 1963. In addition to exhibitions, the artist was commissioned to create several public sculptures, and has designed the sets for various stage productions. Pochkhanawala passed away in 1986.
Read Less
Born
1923
Died
1986
Education
Bachelor of Commerce, Mumbai University
Self-taught Sculptor
Exhibitions
Selected Solo Exhibitions
1982,68,65 New Delhi
1980...
Selected Solo Exhibitions
1982,68,65 New Delhi
1980 Exhibition of Sculptures and Drawings at Katherine Nash Gallery, University of Minnesota, U.S.A.
1979-80 'Metamorphosis', executed for The Groves Learning Centre, Minnetonka, U.S.A., as artist in residence
1979 Minnetonka Art Centre, U.S.A
1978,73,68,65,61,57,55 Mumbai
1974 Gallery Chemould, Mumbai
Participations
1978 National Exhibition of Art-Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi
1979 Invited as India's Sole Representative to the Strumica Art Colony under the IndoYugoslavian Cultural Exchange Programme
1974 Sculpture exhibited as India's entry at the Asiatic Biennale of Outdoor Sculpture at Middleheim, Belgium
1971 Sculpture exhibited as Indian entry at the Sao Paulo Biennale
1970 Participated in the Contemporary Art Exhibition at the Ashoka Gallery, New Delhi
1970 Invited to England by the British Council to meet their leading sculptors
1969 Sculpture Exhibited as Indian entry at the Sao Paulo Biennale
1968 Exhibited at the First Triennale-India, New Delhi
1967 Sculpture exhibited at Belgrade, Bangkok and Tokyo
1963 Sculpture sent as Indias entry to the Commonwealth Art Today, London
Honours and Awards
1979 Award, Lalit Kala Akademi, National Academy of Art, New Delhi
1961 Prize, Maharashtra State Art Exhibition
1959 1st Prize, Mumbai State Art Exhibition
1955 Prize, Maharashtra State Art Exhibition
1954 Silver Medal, Mumbai Art Society
1954 Silver Medal, All India Sculptors' Association
1979 Award, Lalit Kala Akademi, National Academy of Art, New Delhi
1961 Prize, Maharashtra State Art Exhibition
1959 1st Prize, Mumbai State Art Exhibition
1955 Prize, Maharashtra State Art Exhibition
1954 Silver Medal, Mumbai Art Society
1954 Silver Medal, All India Sculptors' Association
Read More Read Less
|
|
|
|
|
PAST AUCTIONS
Showing
3
of
3
works
Lot 86
Details
Winter Online Auction
14-15 December 2022
Untitled
Pen and ink and pastel on mount board
19.25 x 29 in
Winning bid
$26,341
Rs 21,60,000
(Inclusive of buyer's premium)
|
|
| |
Need help? For more information on Indian Art, please see our Art Guide. For help
with buying through Saffronart please click here. If you have any other questions, please contact us.
|