Tyeb Mehta

Tyeb Mehta (1925-2009) was born in Kapadvanj, Gujarat. He was a painter, sculptor, and filmmaker.  Part of the first post-colonial generation of artists in India, he was part of the Bombay Progressive Artists’ Group. Despite beginning his creative career as a film editor at Famous Studios, he graduated with a diploma in Painting in 1952 from the J.J. School of Art. 

Mehta moved to London in 1959, where he lived and worked until 1964. Soon after, he visited New York City, where he was awarded a fellowship from the Rockefeller Fellowship in 1968. During his time in London, Mehta’s style was influenced by the expressionist works of Francis Bacon, however while in New York, his work became more minimalist. In 1970, Mehta produced a short film, ‘Koodal’ (shot at the Bandra slaughterhouse), which received the Filmfare Critics Award. He was also an Artist-in-Residence at Santiniketan between 1984 and 1985, and later returned to Bombay with significant changes to his artistic style. 

Mehta’s decisive use of flat planes of colour to conjure space and the diagonal division of the canvas, were both devices which he borrowed from the Indian miniature tradition. Common themes in his works were trussed bulls and the rickshaw puller. In the 1970s he created the ‘Diagonal’ series, which came about after flinging a black streak of paint across his canvas in a moment of creative frustration. His works were also largely influenced after witnessing the violent death of a man during the Partition of India riots in 1947. The inspired works include his 1991 series ‘Falling Figures’. One of his main artistic methods was to replicate the ancient Indian technique of creating multiple images to convey motion. His works also often depict mythological imagery, such as   the goddess Kali and demon Mahishasura. 

During his extensive career, Mehta was the recipient of numerous awards including a gold medal for paintings at the first Triennial ( New Delhi, 1968); the Prix Nationale at the International Festival of Painting (Cagnes-sur-Mer, France, 1974); the Kalidas Samman (1988); the Dayawati Modi Foundation Award for Art, Culture, and Education (2005); and the Padma Bhushan (2007). His work has also been exhibited both in India and internationally. He passed away in 2009 in Bombay.