Mohan Malviya was born in the town of Ratanpur in the state of Chhattisgarh. Drawn to the forests and tribes of Chhattisgarh, Malviya’s rural roots are seen to have greatly influenced his life and the works of art he created during his lifetime.
A trademark seen in all of Malviya’s works is the explicit use of dots. Malviya’s fascination with dots can be traced back to the tribal people of Chhattisgarh, as a part of their custom is to mark the body with dotted tattoos, and like them, Malviya’s body too exhibited similar markings which he was seen to wear with pride. These dotted tattoos that marked his body would soon be extended onto his canvas, and come to epitomize and symbolize his notion of creation. Malviya also frequented the caves of Bhimbetka, where he drew inspiration from the dotted reliefs left behind by our earliest ancestors. To Malviya, everything in creation came down to a dot, making the dot a symbol of everything and nothing.
Malviya did not complete a formal education in the Arts, he instead chose to develop a natural style of his own, unhindered by theories and methods dictated by the West. He was yet able to emerge as a fine artist, gaining significant ground on the Indian art scene prior to his untimely demise in late 2008. Amongst the numerous group and solo shows he displayed his works in, Malviya was also awarded the Polack Krisner Foundation Award (New York), and the Ravi Jain Memorial Foundation Award (Delhi), in 2004. His works remain in Private collections in India, America, the UK, Belgium, Netherlands, Australia, France, the U.A.E., Finland, Germany, New Zealand, Singapore & Thailand.
~NJS '09 |
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