Important Notice

One of India's foremost women sculptors, Pilloo Pochkhanawala carved her own niche at a time when art was dominated by painting. Born in Mumbai in 1923, she was a self-taught artist, and was inspired to become a sculptor after a trip to Europe for a commercial assignment in 1951 that left her awed by the medium. "Evidently, it was my sudden grasp of the third dimension that left me mortified by the sculptures... because I was seized by the fear... One of India's foremost women sculptors, Pilloo Pochkhanawala carved her own niche at a time when art was dominated by painting. Born in Mumbai in 1923, she was a self-taught artist, and was inspired to become a sculptor after a trip to Europe for a commercial assignment in 1951 that left her awed by the medium. "Evidently, it was my sudden grasp of the third dimension that left me mortified by the sculptures... because I was seized by the fear of the challenge of tackling something so difficult. I suppose the mind was sorting out the message that was beginning to take shape." (Artist quoted in S A Krishnan ed., Pilloo Pochkhanawala, New Delhi: Lalit Kala Akademi) In the 1960s, Pochkhanawala was one of the few artists from then Bombay closely working along the Baroda school of sculptors, and she held her first show at Gallery Chemould, followed by many others.

Perhaps due to the lack of a formal art education, Pochkhanawala's work was dynamic and experimental, ranging from smaller sculptures to theatre sets and monumental public art. She used diverse materials such as cement, lead, thermocol, metal, and wood. In later years, themes such as time and the cycle of life and death became prevalent in her sculptures. Pochkha nawala's public artworks were installed at places such as the Haji Ali traffic circle and the Nehru Centre in Mumbai. Alongside the artist community, she also played an instrumental role in founding the National Gallery of Modern Art in Mumbai.

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