Important Notice

In 1963, Swaminathan formed the artists` collective, Group 1890, that rejected the academic, nationalist, and pastoral teachings of the Bengal School along with similar movements in modern European art. Instead, the Group looked towards classical Indian miniatures and folk art for inspiration and direction. In these paintings, Swaminathan saw the future of modern Indian art. As he explains, “…painting was never meant to `represent` reality in... In 1963, Swaminathan formed the artists` collective, Group 1890, that rejected the academic, nationalist, and pastoral teachings of the Bengal School along with similar movements in modern European art. Instead, the Group looked towards classical Indian miniatures and folk art for inspiration and direction. In these paintings, Swaminathan saw the future of modern Indian art. As he explains, “…painting was never meant to `represent` reality in the naturalistic `objective` sense, it was the cogent and poetic rendering of ideal truth in terms of two dimensional space. The fact that the `modern` movement in India did not take off from the spatial concepts evolved in traditional Indian painting at once explains the poverty of its contribution” (Jagdish Swaminathan qouted in, Back to the Future, 1989-2005, Gallery Espace exhibition catalogue, 2006,unpaginated).

Swaminathan`s response to the challenge of offering a new brand of Indian modernism came in the form of his Mountain, Bird and Tree series of works. Bold colours paired with simplicity of form characterize these canvases, which the artist began to paint in the late 1960s. With their limiting borders and flat expanses of bright colour reminiscent of Pahari miniatures, these conceptual landscapes communicate Swaminathan`s vision of a `virginal state` of nature. It was his belief that there was a great deal of the universe that remained unrealized to humans, which could only be discovered through this transcendental, pristine representation of nature. To, Swaminathan, then, these canvases were visual guides, helping his viewers find a tranquil existence beyond the false limits of their daily lives.

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