Important Notice

Born in Patangarh village, Madhya Pradesh, in the early 1960s, Jangarh Singh Shyam belonged to the Pradhan-Gond community. Widely regarded as a pioneer of contemporary Gond painting, he developed a new visual language within the Pradhan community, who were traditionally minstrels and did not have a strong pre-existing tradition of pictorial art. A chance meeting in the 1980s with modernist Jagdish Swaminathan proved decisive for his artistic... Born in Patangarh village, Madhya Pradesh, in the early 1960s, Jangarh Singh Shyam belonged to the Pradhan-Gond community. Widely regarded as a pioneer of contemporary Gond painting, he developed a new visual language within the Pradhan community, who were traditionally minstrels and did not have a strong pre-existing tradition of pictorial art. A chance meeting in the 1980s with modernist Jagdish Swaminathan proved decisive for his artistic trajectory. Swaminathan, who was establishing the Roopankar Museum at Bharat Bhavan in Bhopal, became his mentor and introduced him to a broader artistic platform.

Aurogeeta Das notes, Jangarh’s “work has enduring appeal because not only is it technically acrobatic and thematically engaging but also because he was a brilliant colourist and a master at innovative patterning.” (Aurogeeta Das, “From Patangarh to Paris, New Delhi to Niigata”, Jangarh Singh Shyam: The Enchanted Forest, New Delhi: Roli Books, 2017, p. 16). As seen in the present lots, he often depicted flora, fauna and avifauna that he encountered during his childhood which he spent in the forests of Madhya Pradesh. In 1989, he developed one of his most recognisable stylistic innovations-black- and-white ink compositions animated by multiple dotted lines that create an ‘aura’ radiating from a central creature or deity. Describing this technique, Das explains: “This is actually composed of two strokes that meet in the middle, both begun on either end with greater pressure, i.e. with the nib pressed down against the paper, and then the initial pressure is reduced so that the nib begins to skim across the surface, creating a dotted effect... While the technique may sound simple, in fact it requires considerable skill in terms of gauging both alignment and pressure, to make it look like a single semi-dotted line when it really is two perfectly positioned strokes with the dots in the middle lending delicacy to the line.” (Das, “Samvega, Aesthetic Shock: Jangarh’s Artistic Evolution”, p. 64)

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