Important Notice

Jangarh Singh Shyam is remembered today as a pioneer of contemporary Gond art. He is synonymous with the artform to such an extent that Udayan Vajpeyi, in his essay, "From Music to Painting," proposes that Gond art be called Jangarh Kalam, or Jangarh style. (Sathyapal ed., Native Art of India, Thrissur: Kerala Lalithakala Akademi, 2011, p. 33)

Jangarh's commercial artistic journey and rise to fame was propelled by a chance... Jangarh Singh Shyam is remembered today as a pioneer of contemporary Gond art. He is synonymous with the artform to such an extent that Udayan Vajpeyi, in his essay, "From Music to Painting," proposes that Gond art be called Jangarh Kalam, or Jangarh style. (Sathyapal ed., Native Art of India, Thrissur: Kerala Lalithakala Akademi, 2011, p. 33)

Jangarh's commercial artistic journey and rise to fame was propelled by a chance encounter with the artist Jagdish Swaminathan in the 1980s. The latter had been invited by the Government of Madhya Pradesh to set up Roopankar, an arts museum that was to be housed within the then up-and-coming multi-arts complex Bharat Bhavan in Bhopal. He had been travelling through parts of the state, scouting for indigenous artistic talent when he chanced upon the mud wall paintings of Jangarh, who was only a teenager at the time. Swaminathan took Jangarh on as his protege, brought him to Bhopal, and encouraged him to transfer his art from walls to paper. Jangarh’s series of works on paper and canvas remain on display at Bharat Bhavan till date.

Gond art is rooted in the daily life, beliefs, and folk tales of the Gond community native to Central India, particularly Madhya Pradesh. Prior to Jangarh's meeting with Swaminathan, the artform was mostly practiced on the walls of members of the community, created to mark festivals or fulfil ritualistic purposes. Characterised by the use of dotted patterns and lines, Gond drawings are vividly colourful and depict local flora and fauna, as well as various gods and goddesses, folktales and myths of the community. The artform is, in many ways, an extension of the rich oral history and storytelling traditions of the community, and reflects its animistic beliefs and practices. Prior to the introduction of commercial paint mediums, artists derived paints from naturally occurring objects as varied as charcoal, coloured soil, leaves, flowers, and even cow dung.

Jangarh's journey forever altered the course of Gond art. As he achieved fame, Jangarh encouraged other artists in his community to paint as well, and served as their bridge into the mainstream art world. His house doubled as a studio, where he provided his students with paper, canvas, and paint, and encouraged them to find and practice their unique expression within the Gond tradition. He passed away in 2001, while only in his early forties, leaving behind a rich legacy that is carried on by the artists he trained and encouraged during his lifetime.

Lots 88-91 represent four works from across Jangarh's oeuvre that demonstrate prominent themes in the Gond world. Three of these are dynamic renderings of species that are presumably ubiquitous in the forests of Central India, such as Untitled (Birds) which depicts a group of birds in flight, Ghas, Cheetee which shows a group of ants in an almost frenzied motion, and Bhatkatiya Jhad, which captures the Yellow-fruit nightshade, a prickly herb that is common across India and often used in ayurvedic medicine. Phulwari Devi, on the other hand, depicts the goddess Phulwari, a mythical figure from the Gond belief system.

Jangarh worked with several mediums throughout his career, including drawing and silkscreen painting, rediscovering a new style and representation every time. He switched from murals to acrylics and ink on paper, and adapted age-old imagery from the community's visual imagination for a contemporary setting with remarkable deftness. His versatility is reflected in the present lot. While Phulwari Devi is representative of the rich dotted patterns that are characteristic of most of his acrylic and gouache works, the three inks on paper indicate his expert ability to create texture with lines.

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