Dear Readers,

It was not until the 1950’s when Abstraction as a form of art got its shape. The general tendency during this time was to rejuvenate the abstract motifs on canvas and disown the human figure in the paintings. As the abstract involved imagination and invention that were concentrated on the pictorial surfaces along with the arrangements of shapes, colors, and textures evolved.

The era of the 1950’s for abstraction was considered as the period of assimilation. While the period of sixties and the early seventies were considered as the period of introspection. It was the phase when Indian painters thought of creating their own cultural identity within modern art. Few distinguished painters turned towards a minimalist variety of abstraction. Among them, Nasreen Mohamedi was the most significant. Her work was influential for later minimalists like Shobha Broota, while Suhas Nimbalkar, whose work is represented in the collection of the Lalit Kala Akademi, Delhi, and in several private collections displayed the colors on a vast space of the canvas.

In the year 1982, the inception of Bharat Bhawan Bhopal created a movement that developed the Bhopal School of abstraction. Many significant artists contributed to this movement such as Akhilesh, Yusuf, and Anwar. Similarly, the year of 1990s saw the revival of this artistic phase. Artists like Ganesh Haloi, Badhan Das, who carried forward the legacy from the Bengal School involved themselves with Abstraction. Though, Abstraction in Bengal couldn’t find its home there for long.

Art & Deal Magazine brings to its readers the theme of Indian Abstract Artists with the aim and content to evolve and develop the knowledge of the inception, maturity, and the later phase of an Art that was not indigenous in nature but slowly and gradually became one. This magazine opens up with a brief discussion on the evolution of Abstract art in the Western and Indian world. An article written by Gaurav Kumar gives insights into how the movement of abstract evolved gradually in the world.

From the Art & Deal correspondent comes the Article on the life and artworks of Vasudeo S Gaitonde. This article also answers the question of why the artist got late recognition than his contemporary artists. This magazine also highlights the magnetic life and works of Mr. Sohan Qadri whose meditative abstractions have been brilliantly put up by Uma Prakash.

When talking about Abstraction, it also becomes important to mention artists whose little efforts in the series of Abstraction created a well- recognized knowledge in the Art world. Thus, presents the work of Urmila Banu on the Saurashtra series of S.H. Raza. On the other hand, Afreen Kraipak Khyriem talks about the indigenous Abstract artworks of Jagdish Swaminathan and his ideas of Abstract Art.

The second edition of the magazine starts with Saraswathy K. Bhattathiri’s article on the life and works of Akkitham Narayanan. Dr. Aparna Roy Baliga talks about the worlding of Paul Klee and the Indian moderns. Apurva Sinha writes on the neo-tantric works of G.R. Santosh and gives an insight on his artistic life. Pranamita Borgohain brings on the focus of the artworks of Shobha Broota. Where, the Artist defines her perception of abstraction. On the similar note, comes the life story of the artist Nupur Kundu by Subhra Mazumdar.

Our magazine feels incomplete without recording the silences and works of an artist whose abstraction work created a stir in the new genre of art themes. Kainaat Fatima thus, takes the interview of Shridhar Iyer, who by the end leaves an inspiring message for its readers. Anirban Dhar also comes up with the works of Kalicharan Gupta, giving insights of what abstraction meant to him and how he tried to reflect it in his work.

The magazine however does not end here, as the end segment begins the new journey of abstraction.

An article of Palak Dubey on Prabhakar Kolte reflects on another side of the abstraction. The artists speaks of Abstraction through his work which becomes a must read. Abstraction was not just bound to the canvases and colors; it went beyond the periphery of Art. Sculptures too became an integral part of the Abstraction world. Many artists indulged themselves into the art of making sculpture that became abstract in its form. Out of all, P.S. Nandhan became the most renowned. An article by Ashrafi Bhagat highlights on the artist’s ideology of creating abstract sculptures while ending our November edition for its readers.

From the International section we have the interview of Polly Morgan by Mr. Rajesh Punj. We tried to create a world where all the Artists agreed to be together, and decided to make you an integral part of their world. For it is you, that makes their life around Abstract more vibrant. Happy Reading!

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Siddhartha Tagore