Important Notice

Jangarh Singh Shyam is synonymous with this art form, so much so, that Udayan Vajpeyi, in his essay, "From Music to Painting," proposes that the art be called Jangarh kalam, or Jangarh style. (Sathyapal ed., Native Art of India, Thrissur: Kerala Lalithakala Akademi, 2011, p. 33) Hailing from the Gond tribe in Madhya Pradesh, Jangarh Singh Shyam lived in the jungles of Mandla until a chance encounter with the modern artist Jagdish... Jangarh Singh Shyam is synonymous with this art form, so much so, that Udayan Vajpeyi, in his essay, "From Music to Painting," proposes that the art be called Jangarh kalam, or Jangarh style. (Sathyapal ed., Native Art of India, Thrissur: Kerala Lalithakala Akademi, 2011, p. 33) Hailing from the Gond tribe in Madhya Pradesh, Jangarh Singh Shyam lived in the jungles of Mandla until a chance encounter with the modern artist Jagdish Swaminathan in the 1980s. Swaminathan, who was leading an Indian collective on a study tour with the aim of creating a collection of tribal art in Bhopal, came across Shyam's house, whose walls were adorned with his art. Upon enquiring, they met Shyam-only a teenager at the time, but with a striking style of painting.

Swaminathan took Shyam on as his protege, bringing him to Roopankar Museum in Bhopal, where he learned to transfer his art from walls to paper. He created a series of works on paper and canvas which are displayed at Bharat Bhavan today. "His first large works on paper from the start of the 1980s contain highly expressive forms of great simplicity redolent of primitivism." (Herve Perdriolle, Indian Art: Contemporary, One Word, Several Worlds, Milan: 5 Continents Editions, p. 61)

Shyam's art was based on the deities and divinities of the Gond tribe, and the animist culture of worship surrounding them. Suspended in space, he rendered them like silhouettes creating the effect of shadow puppets, with bright colours, dots and hatched lines. The inspiration for using fine dots comes from the Gond tribe, in which the shamans go into a trance and imagine that the particles of their bodies disperse into space to join with those of spirits to form other beings.

In 2010, the Muse du quai Branly in Paris held an exhibition called Other Masters of India, which carried large works on paper by Shyam from the late 1980s and early 1990s, which according to Pedriolle, "reveal a development in the direction of a profusion of psychedelic colors and more elaborated forms. The second half of the 1990s was marked by an unusual refinement, pictorial maturity, and graphic mastery that resulted in some of his best works." (Perdriolle, p.61)

Shyam worked with several mediums throughout his career, including drawing and silkscreen painting, rediscovering a new style and representation every time. As he achieved fame, Shyam encouraged other artists in his community to paint, giving them access into the mainstream. His house was the studio, where he provided his students with paper, canvas and paint, encouraging them to find their own expression through new mediums. He passed away in 2001, in his early forties and left behind a vibrant legacy which is carried on by the artists he trained and encouraged during his lifetime.

Read More
Artist Profile
Other works of this artist in: this auction  |  entire site