Three Painters

Atul Dodiya's allegorical collages fuse fragments of art historical masterpieces with moments of Pop Culture, current events and his own autobiography. Regarded as one of the leading artists of his generation, Dodiya has become a widely recognized figurehead in South Asian contemporary art influencing many of the country's burgeoning younger artists. Born in and still residing in Mumbai, the culture and history of India plays an important role in shaping the barrage of images which inform his works. Beginning his career with a straightforward and cleverly deadpan realist style, Dodiya moved away from the literal in the mid-90s towards the fragmented and multilayered techniques which now dominate his oeuvre. Immensely conscious of history, his works reflect his impressive knowledge about both current events and ancient religions and he quotes freely from the recesses of both Western and Indian art traditions. Capitalizing on the Post-Modern tendency towards ironic juxtaposition, Dodiya manages to use the vocabulary of Western contemporary art in creating a unique and potent pictorial language. According to art historian Thomas McEvilley, "even as [Dodiya's] work attempts to bring Indian art into a closer embrace with Western Post-Modernist art, he also wants to bring contemporary Indian art closer to its Hindu roots, through re-adjustment and reproaches to cultural and mythological figures such as Gandhi, Siva and Kali." (Atul Dodiya: Cracks in Mondrian, Bose Pacia Modern, New York, 3 March - 16 April 2005.)