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Born in 1917 in Lahore, Dhanraj Bhagat is regarded as one of the most innovative sculptors in the art history of the subcontinent. He received his diploma in the field from the Mayo School of Art in Lahore, after which he served as the head of the Sculpture Department at the College of Art, New Delhi, from 1947 to 1977.
Bhagat frequently experimented with new and unusual media in his work. The unique style he perfected over the years illustrates an amalgamation of national heritage and artistic traditions and western artistic ideals, reflected in his use of geometric shapes and colour. Of all the media the artist worked with, wood seemed to suit him and his sculptures the best, taking on and communicating the many subtle motifs that were significant to him. Bhagat’s style and body of work has often been compared to those of Victor Vasarely and Paul Klee, whose idioms also involved minimalist geometry and subtle shapes. During the last years of his life, when he was too weak to sculpt, Bhagat produced a portfolio of drawings that also reflected this distinctive artistic vocabulary.
Bhagat’s work has been featured in several exhibitions, including a retrospective at the Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi, in 1978. He has participated in India’s first three Triennales; the All India Sculpture Exhibition at the National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi, in 1954; and several shows held by the Bombay Art Society, Mumbai, the All India Academy of Fine Arts, Kolkata, and All India Fine Arts and Crafts Society (AIFACS), New Delhi. During his extensive career, Bhagat received many awards for his pioneering art, including the National Award from the Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi, in 1961, and the Padma Shri from the Government of India in 1977. Bhagat passed away in 1988.
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Born in 1917 in Lahore, Dhanraj Bhagat is regarded as one of the most innovative sculptors in the art history of the subcontinent. He received his diploma in the field from the Mayo School of Art in Lahore, after which he served as the head of the Sculpture Department at the College of Art, New Delhi, from 1947 to 1977.
Bhagat ...
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