Pratibha Dakoji, artist extraordinaire was born and raised in Nairobi, Kenya, to Indian parents. In 1980, Pratibha Dakoji began her professional artistic career, exhibiting her work in prestigious galleries both nationally and internationally. She attended Chelsea School of Art in London to study printmaking after earning a degree in applied arts from M.S. University’s Faculty of Fine Arts. She expresses herself as an artist with the greatest freedom, experimenting with various media and experiences. Her experimentation with various media also included three-dimensional assemblage sculptures, which were displayed as part of the ‘Women Sculptures’ exhibit at the National Gallery of Modern Art. She has a strong affinity for printmaking in addition to watercolour painting. As the director, she oversaw Atelier 2221, a printmaking facility, from 1986 to 2004. While there, she explored the possibility of working with artists to create original print editions with master printer and artist Devraj Dakoji.
Her most recent exhibition, which featured watercolours and mylar pieces from DAG’s collection, took place in 2010 at LKA Delhi. Her ‘ Mother and Child’ series was completed between 2010 and 2012. Pratibha’s paintings and prints have a distinct sense of immediacy. The clear watercolours depict a world that is simultaneously immediate. Her paintings depict an abstract environment that resembles natural doodling alongside a world with recognized features. Art historian Kiran Bagade talks about her resplendent style and her wizardry with watercolours.
The better half of printmaker of global repute Devraj Dakoji-Pratibha has had pre-eminence associated with her oeuvre of multiple genres in the art space, the least muted of mints that were discovered by me during a recent conversation about headwinds and trends in the watercolours space. It is a symbiotic bonding of two people in the art space- one with a global umbilical connection with the printmaking of mesmerizing Devraj and another, Pratibha whose art ventures and pursuits in paintings specially this series of works speak unique hues in Esperanto.
I was wonderstruck by these watercolours done in 1983 & again in 2004. Pratibha’s style of rendition is bejewelled, bespoke, and vividly artisanal. Hailing from a family culturally invested in imbibing and connecting with their surrounding, Pratibha’s watercolours elegantly rediscover tenets of her learning phase with a dulcet clarity of pastels making statements beauteous.
Watercolours per se remain a medium for both learners and starters as much as mastery of hues and application by the greats in the past. Her application of watercolours is reminiscent of layered influences with minimal nonchalance and douse of fragility. Pratibha Dakoji and her artworks confirm the stature of craftsmanship that is the control and caress of sensorial delights.
A measure of reticence that is part of this artist’s universe, some of her works have been displayed at prestigious galleries like Art Heritage Delhi, Sarla Art Centre in erstwhile Madras now Chennai, Chemould & Cymroza Mumbai. Pratibha Dakoji’s art pieces are a staple at DAG New Delhi, which has the majority of Pratibha’s early works in its repository as a young artist in the 1990s. These archival artworks reflect the cogent value of critical acceptance of the art rendered.
Kiran Bagade is a curator, author, and art historian. He has been a prolific feature writer, poet, and columnist for over 35 years and contributes to a host of publications in India and overseas matters related to art culture & history.
Image Courtesy – Asia Art Archive
