Citytales – An Introspective

The work of arctic Sudhir Pathwardhan is not just a showcase of exceptional art but also a social commentary on the numerous smaller cities within the larger city. With the stroke of his brushes, he captures their struggles, their hope, their angst yet most of all, he captures people’s bond with their city. Born in 1949, Pathwardhan studied medicine in Pune during the early 1970s. With practicing radiology in Thane, he continued painting and exhibiting his work. Pathwardhan’s early work was influenced by paintings by M.F. Hussain, Akbar Padamsee and Tyeb Mehta. Later he leaned towards the work of Bhupen Khakar and Gieve Patel. Pathwardhan had his first solo exhibition at Art Heritage, founded by pioneering art personalities Ebrahim and Roshen Alkazi in Delhi in January 1979. A few months later, the show found itself in Bombay’s Jehangir Art Gallery authored by majestic art critic Geeta Kapur. The sense of Freedom with the hostel life, novels, movies and college life inspired Pathwardhan for serious painting. With this, the introduction to classical music and dance by his wife stimulated his artistic side. “Once you have experienced the pleasure of creative activity you will remain motivated throughout your life”, says Pathwardhan when asked about his motivation for keeping painting after all these years. When asked about the themes of his paintings, Pathwardhan claims that the City of Mumbai is his subject matter. The city life, the running locals, struggling people, busy streets, the majestic buildings, the violence, the silence, flyovers, mills and malls, call centers and the whole built environment is what he responds to in “Mumbai Proverbs” which is commissioned by the Mahindra Group, Anand Mahindra and his wife, Anuradha. The artist further says “ To portray such a city is to soak in it, celebrate it, try and make some sense of it and … .to worry about it….”. Pathwardhan enjoys observing people’s lives and imagining the way they lead it. Mumbai showcases all classes of lives from the rich to the poor but the artist tries to feature the lives of the middle class, working class and their stories. What stands out in the artist’s paintings is the ease with which one can relate oneself to his paintings. His work provides us the opportunity to pause and think about the many layers embedded within the city fabric which together form the pulse of the city. When asked to pick his closest creations Pathwardhan chose: “Nullah”, painted in 1985, the artist tries to find a structure to express open spaces as well as a human activity. With this vertical format, he was able to achieve a feeling of expanse as well as a closeup of people about this daily work and pleasure. The painting is a composite of different sites in Thane where he lived since 1978. “Station Road”, painted in 1998 is a closeup of a crowd where different people are brought together on a street. Here the artist claims Ajanta as his inspiration. The particular arrangement of rows of figures in a crowd that is employed in Ajanta helped him find a similar structure for this painting. Father’s Story”, is autobiographical. It shows Pathwardhan’s father and him sitting on a bench at Sangli Railway Station. The many-hued colors and shapes in the large open space behind the two figures framed by s row of small buildings helped to recreate a particular moment and express deep but ambitious feelings about it. Pathwardhan leaves a message for young creatives advising them to have a firm grasp of, and technical understanding of any medium be it – painting, sculpture, architecture, music, f ilm and many more. He also advises that emerging artists should not create their own style in the early stage of their careers. Continuity will evolve the style and authenticity of your work. Being creative often leads one side into conflict with conservative views. Find ways to avoid or minimize compromises of your visions, added the artist further. “I would like to be remembered as a good painter, one who made some good paintings, That’s all”, says Sadhir Pathwardhan when asked what kind of artist he wanted to be remembered as.