Ambadas Khobragade

Ambadas Khobragade (1922-2012) was born in Akola, Maharashtra. His childhood was enriched by Gandhian values as he struggled between a subaltern origin and poverty. This clash of material and spiritual needs made him strive for a higher purpose in life, and is evident in his art. 

Initially, Khobragade trained at a private art school in Ahmedabad under the instruction of Ravi Shankar Raval. However, after three years, he moved to Bombay, and completed his diploma in Fine Arts at the J.J. School of Art in 1952. He then received the opportunity to work at the government-run Weavers Service Centre in Madras. There, he met like-minded artists like J. Swaminathan, Rajesh Mehra, and Himmat Shah, with whom he formed Group 1890 in 1962. Though the association was short lived, they criticised the existing art world, and questioned the necessary ideological shifts for modern and contemporary Indian art. 

Khobragade pioneered non-representational painting in which colour, process, and technique played a significant role. His works have been exhibited at Biennales in Brazil and France. He is also represented in numerous public and private collections in both India and internationally, including the National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi; Glenbarra Art Museum, Japan; the Ben & Abbey Grey Foundation, United States; and the State Gallery, Norway. In 1963, Khobragade received the National Award from the Lalit Kala Akademi for his work, ‘Hot Wind Blows Inside Me’. 

Ambadas travelled to Germany and the United States with scholarships before eventually settling in Norway in 1972. He lived and worked there until his passing in 2012.