Important Notice

Jangarh Singh Shyam, born in the early 1960s in the village of Patangarh, Madhya Pradesh, is celebrated for pioneering a contemporary painting style within the Pardhan tribe, traditionally known for their oral storytelling and musical heritage. He gained recognition in the 1980s when the modernist artist Jagdish Swaminathan took him on as a protege and brought him to the Roopankar Museum in Bhopal. There, he was introduced to new materials such... Jangarh Singh Shyam, born in the early 1960s in the village of Patangarh, Madhya Pradesh, is celebrated for pioneering a contemporary painting style within the Pardhan tribe, traditionally known for their oral storytelling and musical heritage. He gained recognition in the 1980s when the modernist artist Jagdish Swaminathan took him on as a protege and brought him to the Roopankar Museum in Bhopal. There, he was introduced to new materials such as paper, canvas, poster colours, and acrylics, marking a significant evolution in his artistic practice.

Like many members of the Pardhan-Gond tribe, Shyam was a devoted animist who believed deeply in the interconnectedness between man and nature. His art often depicts the flora and fauna of Madhya Pradesh’s forests where he had grown up and gave visual form to the deities of the Gond tribe. The present lot exemplifies the style he is best-known for, a technique of layering intricate patterns over a base colour. Reflecting on the present lot Dr Alka Pande writes, “The tree sports minimum leaf growth, possibly poetically addressing autumn, the season of the fall [...] The delineation of the tree diverging into branches seems realistic; the colour of its leaves bears close tonal proximity with the umber background, owing to which the tree steps upon a dream-like effervescent presence. The tree becomes an agent that describes the artist’s longing for his original state of being, as well as his wish to recede back there. The painting of the tree appears to be a memory of Jangarh’s own, his silent presence in the scene symbolically reflected through dots.” (Dr Alka Pande, Jangarh Singh Shyam: From Forest Land to Global Fame - Volume 2, Noida: Fabuleu Art Heritage Pvt Ltd, 2024, p. 51)

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