Having held his first solo show in 1979, Patwardhan was one of the first Indian artists to turn away from the modernist, internationally attuned concerns his predecessors. Taking up subjects that were close to home, the artist, also a practicing radiologist and community educator, found his inspiration in the members of the urban proletariat who he interacted with everyday. In his paintings, Patwardhan concentrated on “the...
Having held his first solo show in 1979, Patwardhan was one of the first Indian artists to turn away from the modernist, internationally attuned concerns his predecessors. Taking up subjects that were close to home, the artist, also a practicing radiologist and community educator, found his inspiration in the members of the urban proletariat who he interacted with everyday. In his paintings, Patwardhan concentrated on “the everyday and the subaltern, the autobiographical and the fabular…certain kinds of urban figures, cast in the lineaments of a social class or existential predicament”. In doing so, he “traced the contours of [the] turbulent postcolonial modernity” that dramatically affected Indian identity in the decades following its independence in 1947 (Ranjit Hoskote, “The Startling View from the Studio”, in Gieve Patel – Sudhir Patwardhan, Bose Pacia Gallery, 2006).
In this 2005 canvas, the artist offers a close look at India`s ubiquitous semi-urban environment, where the natural and the manmade compete for space. Allowing his viewers a sense of participation in the scene, Patwardhan is not only creating a sense of community between the subjects, the viewers and the artist. By inviting us to walk along with him, tracing the path of the figures in the painting, he is also challenging us to build bridges – those that lead us to a clearer understanding of the complex notion of `Indian-ness` in the early 21st century.