V. S. Gaitonde (1924 - 2001)

One of the greatest abstract artists of India, V. S. Gaitonde was born in Nagpur in 1924 and grew up in Goa and Mumbai. He studied at Sir J.J. School of Art, Mumbai. His medium included textured landscapes and abstract forms, drawing on themes and motifs from Zen Buddhist traditions, Indian miniature paintings, Chinese calligraphy, Japanese sumi-e ink wash techniques and hanging scroll paintings. He worked with different types of mediums including watercolors, acrylics, oils and inks. During the 50’s Gaitonde’s work was inspired by the watercolor techniques of Basohli miniature paintings. Gaitonde’s early works comprised of linear and geometric figures. By the 1960’s, Gaitonde’s works had piqued the interest of the international art scene. He held numerous solo and group shows including at the Indian room of the Venice Biennale (1954); the Indian Pavilion of the Sao Paulo Biennial, Brazil (1959); a solo exhibition at Gallery 59, Mumbai (1959); Pundole’s Art Gallery, Mumbai (1963); Gallery One, London and Gallery 63, New York (1963). The Guggenheim Museum, New York held retrospective of his work in 2014-15. He also holds many awards like the Fleischmann Prize at the First Young Asian Artist Exhibition in Tokyo, Japan, 1957, The Padma Shri, 1971; Kalidas Samman Art Award, 1988. His works are in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, New Delhi; and the National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi. He died in 2001.