Delhi-based artist Gyanwant Yadav is known in contemporary art for his little way of absorbing abstraction and lived experiences to produce an amalgamation. Born in 1992 in Pratapgarh, Uttar Pradesh, his expedition emphasises his promise to storytelling and his relation towards the surroundings that shaped him. Growing up in the countryside and finding success as an artist, Yadav’s work provides insight into the rural and urban passage.
Yadav had pursued his undergraduate and postgraduate studies in fine arts both at the Delhi College of art, from which he graduated in 2017 and 2019 respectively. This time period also shaped him, fine tuning his talents and exposing him to the inner workings of an abstract expression. Yadav’s sense of art doesn’t conform strictly to context, which he argues makes “a good art expression not a slave to context.” And it echoes his desire to do work that encourages a conversation between artist and audience.
Yadav’s exploration of themes is intimately tied to his witnessing of shifting ecologies. His paintings reflect the characteristic of the setting as rural or urban, including details of the field crops, village homes, cracked mud wall textures, and much more. Via bold boundary lines and layered imagery, he depicts life’s transitions in a way that resonates powerfully with the viewer. The work’s textures serve more than an aesthetic purpose, recalling the sensory impressions of his country upbringing.
Using a number of mediums, Yadav looks to express his themes. There are elements of transitions; moving from rural simplicity to the urban environment is a retaining theme in his art, as well as the textures and patterns of the urban environment in which he finds himself. The way he combines abstraction with specificities creates emotional depth in his work, illuminating the beauty behind quotidian life.
Yadav’s work has earned her numerous awards. Also he was awarded with the College of Art Certificate of Merit in the year 2016, 2018, 2019, & the Sailaz Mukherjee award in the year 2017. These awards emphasize his regularity and ability in the field of contemporary art. His work has also been exhibited in the Annual Exhibition, College of Art, Delhi, All India Arts & Crafts Society, New Delhi, Punjab Lalit Kala Akademi, Chandigarh. He has also shown at the 4th Edition of Affordable Art Fair with Art 35, reaching wider audiences.
He has also benefited from workshops and residencies to further his artistic development. He has shown work in the Student Biennale at Jamia Millia Islamia, the Serendipity Arts Festival in Goa and at a residency at the Foundation for Indian Contemporary Art (FICA). A large part of his artistic practice is informed by these experiences.
Yadav’s work is singular in a field where art typically follows the bombastic line. His attention to the truths of life’s transitions provides a worthwhile lens on India’s changing identity. His attention to rural and urban subjects expresses his belief that art must pass beyond particular contexts and be idea-driven. Yadav is bold as a contemporary artist, his journey encourages other people to see attention and see the world with sensitivity, making him not only a vital force but an inspiring voice in contemporary work.
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