Shishir Bhatt

Born in Rajasthan, Shishir Bhatt is a self-taught artist whose paintings have an uncanny knack of presenting everyday objects infused with a sense of the unreal. Starting his career as a miniature artist he developed a penchant for extreme detailing. His recent works in ink drawings are an interesting interplay of the human form along with architecture, animal forms and text. “When I look at things around me, my imagination transforms them into almost mythical objects,” he says and this concept combined with an eye for detail makes his works interesting representations of the ordinary. The series is done on handmade paper that effectively essays this vision. The sketches show a rare textural format and lyrical movement in lines. The artist voices ‘My paintings subvert the traditional genre of portraiture by approaching the subject with the sentiment of an Iconoclast. Yet my intention is to rebuild.’

Bhatt has worked as a full-time painter since 1980, and his work has been featured in many group shows both in India and internationally. During 2007-2008, he has added to his repertoire with solo shows in New Delhi, Ahmedabad and Indore, his works having found a place in the collection of the White House.