An upcoming exhibition at the DAG art gallery in India will present over 80 works by Shanti Dave, one of India’s first major abstractionists. Titled “Shanti Dave: Neither Earth, Nor Sky,” the exhibition curated by Jesal Thacker will provide a comprehensive overview of Dave’s artistic journey from figuration to abstraction. Commencing on July 15, the exhibition will feature Dave’s abstract paintings, including larger-than-life pieces that represent the style he developed over several decades. The showcase will also incorporate a wide range of archival material on the artist.
Accompanying the exhibition is an eponymous book edited by curator Jesal Thacker. The exhibition will encompass Dave’s rarely-seen early figurative works, which were created under the guidance of NS Bendre and KG Subramanyan at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Baroda. These early pieces offer a glimpse into the artist’s formative years when he joined the institution as part of its inaugural batch in 1950. Additionally, the exhibition will present Dave’s beeswax and encaustic canvases, layered watercolors, prints, murals, drawings, collages, and relief paintings in mixed media. This diverse range of mediums will showcase Dave’s mastery over materials and his ability to work across various artistic techniques.
The retrospective exhibition will span from 1950 to 2014, providing an extensive overview of Dave’s artistic career. It will also highlight his role as a printmaker and muralist. The showcase will include significant works from the 1970s, a period during which Dave received critical acclaim and won a gold medal at the third international Triennale-India. Notably, the exhibition will feature Dave’s black-and-white graphic watercolours depicting the Indo-Pak war, marking the first public display of these works.
Describing Dave’s artistic approach, Ashish Anand, CEO and managing director of DAG, said, ” was India’s first major abstractionist to incorporate beeswax into his practice, and his encaustic paintings often appear like sculptures in relief. The indecipherable scripts in his paintings appear to me like history having a conversation with itself. A quiet, inward-looking person, Shanti bhai doesn’t talk much about his art, leaving the interpretation to art writers and scholars who find his work as mysterious as it is intriguing.”
Dave’s abstract iconography emerged in the early 1950s and evolved alongside the modernist movement. He experimented with, rejected, and improvised images, transforming them into resonant forms resembling ancient scripts. The retrospective exhibition will provide visitors with a unique opportunity to explore the development of Dave’s artistic style and appreciate the depth and complexity of his abstract compositions.
The exhibition will run until September 10, allowing art enthusiasts and the public to engage with the rich artistic legacy of Shanti Dave. By celebrating his pioneering contributions to Indian abstraction and showcasing his diverse body of work, the exhibition aims to enhance understanding and appreciation of Dave’s art and its significance in the context of Indian modernism.
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