Description

About the Book
Write-up Introducing the Book
Creation is objective, supporting our bodily reality in the world; it is informational, allowing us to explain the world to others. It is explorative, always pushing the boundaries of unrevealed knowledge. These creations, the varied individualistic and inspiring of many contemporary artists and discussing the modern art of our country, under one cover, became the purpose of our book – ‘Artists of India, Modern and Contemporary Art’. We hardly found any such book or limited segments being available, but then it should be of interest equally for art enthusiasts, researchers or patrons. We intended it especially for a knowledgeable reading and reference material for the students pursuing art and moderately priced too.
To explore such existing book we hooked up ourselves on online bookselling sites or went to sprawling bookstores and also inside crowded bylanes of Nai Sarak. The books by galleries are there, generally on individual artists or few together, but by and largely inaccessible, if available it’s limited and exorbitant. In this book, we have discussed the creations of 55 contemporary, eminent and acclaimed artists and their quest for something new and different, which in art is as old as art itself. From Realism to Impressionism, from Expressionism to Surrealism and more, artists are always in search of the styles that best define their sensibilities. We are also grateful to have Padma Awardees – Padma Vibhushan (1), Padma Bhushan (2) and Padma Shri (7) and other artists who have gained recognition and made India proud nationally and internationally as part of this book.
The book also traces the evolution of innovative trends and concepts briefly as they developed and transformed in the work of representative contemporary Indian artists. The works of some of the artists throw light upon the everyday banalities of peoples that society has not homogenised. For some, the concentration is on urban, and for some, it is rural, for some it is about a certain section of the society or the action or the condition, which the world might ignore. Few of the artists’ works are but absolute representations of photographs, some tell stories through their works, and some are a mirror to the society and make us aware of the realities. Some artists with blot and smudges capture the beauty of nature, some enthrall us by the landscape and some shows the energy and brute strength of animals. Some of the women artists of the book explore a wide range of themes, from identity and
memory to history and contemporary culture and struggle in patriarchal society. The idea is to create an impression of what the artist wants to convey, and this is fairly explored in the book.
The book was under production for six months. The team of Takhte carried out the research on Indian Modern and Contemporary Art by visiting various libraries and bookshops and gathered enough material and thereafter phrased the content, which is informational and factual. The team made constant efforts in getting in touch with as many artists of India spread across all States and Union Territories through social media, Whats App group chats, phone calls, individual emails and word of mouth.
We believe in contributing the message that the art of our country is important, its legacy endures and shapes our place in the world, and that it will inform generations to come what India is as a civilization.

About the Authors

Goldie is a creative writer and a designer. She holds Master’s Degree in English Literature and has been awarded Senior Fellowship from Ministry of Culture, Government of India in Indian English Literature in 2017-2018. She has undergone many professional courses in visual art. Goldie is a curator as well as an artist and has organised and participated in art exhibitions at a national level. To her credential includes that she has co-authored school books-CBSE curriculum on Fine Arts for standard IX, X, XI and XII. She has also produced whiteboard animation videos on concerning social and lifestyle issues, which have been widely acknowledged. She is a co-founder and owner of TAKHTE, an agency, which offers content and designing solutions.

Shivani is a Knowledge Management expert holding Master’s Degree in Journalism and Mass Communication. She has worked with many National and International organisations in development sector like Indian Red Cross Society, PCI India, FHI 360 and Public Health Foundation of India mostly on USAID and CDC funded projects. She has authored books and co-authored many publications during her tenure. Her other credential includes that she has documented above 200 case studies of the people at the grassroots. She has spearheaded video – documentation projec ts for the Government of Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra. Shivani is also a professional photographer and has participated in many photo exhibitions organised at national level. She has been awarded with Junior Fellowship from Ministry of Culture, Government of India in Photography in 2016-2017. She is a co-founder and content lead of TAKHTE.

List of Artists

1. Padma Bhushan RAM V SUTAR
2. Padma Bhushan LAXMAN PAI
3. Mr VED NAYYAR
4. Mr ROOP CHAND
5. Mr JITEN HAZARIKA
6. Padma Shri AEKKA YADAGIRI RAO
7. Mr NIREN SEN GUPTA
8. Padma Shri ANJALI ELA MENON
9. Padma Shri K LAXMA GOUD
10. Mr PARAMJEET SINGH
11. Padma Shri BAOA DEVI
12. Padma Shri BIMAN B DAS
13. Mr KRISHAN AHUJA
14. Ms SHOBHA BROOTA
15. Padma Vibhushan RAGHUNATH MOHAPATRA
16. Mr PREM SINGH
17. Mr ANUPAM SUD
18. Mr MATURAM VERMA
19. Mr JAI ZHAROTIA
20. Ms GOGI SAROJPAL
21. Mr AKHILESH CHANDRA NIGAM
22. Padma Shri TILAK GITAI
23. Ms GOLDY MALHOTRA
24. Ms JAGDISH CHANDRA
25. Ms ARPANA CAUR
26. Mr SUDHIR TRIPURARI
27. Mr VASUDEO KAMATH
28. Mr N P PANDEY
29. Ms SUDDHA SAMA
30. Mr PRANAM SINGH
31. Mr RAJESH K BADERIA
32. Mr JAYA KALRA
33. Mr SANGEETA RAJ
34. Mr Bheem Malhotra
35. DR RAM VIRANJAN
36. Mr SHABBIR HUSSAIN
37. Ms RAGINI SINHA
38. Ms SANGEETA KUMAR MURTHY
39. Mr SHAKTI SINGH
40. DR VIMMIE MANOJ
41. Mr KISHORE SHANKAR
42. Mr KAMAL DEVNATH
43. Dr SUNIL JAISWAL
44. Ms NIRMAL THAKUR
45. Padma Shri BHAJJU SHYAM
46. Ms CHARU GOEL
47. Mr ASHWANI KR PRITHVIWASI
48. Mr AMAR SINGH GOSAIN
49. Dr RANJAN MALLIK
50. Mr DHRUTI GHEDIA
51. Ms CHAULA DOSHI
52. Mr OM SOORYA
53. Mr JAGMOHAN BANGANI
54. Ms SHANIVI SADANA
55. Mr R. RAJENDRAN
(Note: The artists list is as per DOB)