JEHANGIR NICHOLSON ART FOUNDATION
Workshop with 11th and 12th grade Aditya Birla World Academy students
The students were introduced to abstract art, followed by a walkthrough of ‘The Infinite Project’. They interacted with the works of the abstractionist Laxman Shreshtha and viewed an interview of the artist by art critic Ranjit Hoskote which gave them an insight into Shreshtha’s thought process. The workshop concluded with an analysis of the various influences that were part of the an artist's journey through abstraction.
Laxman Shreshtha was born in Siraha, Nepal in 1939, and had an extensive education: The University of Bihar, Patna; the J.J. School of Art; the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux Arts, Paris; and the Central School of Art, London. In the Parisian tradition of the atélier, he also studied at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière and with the legendary print-maker Stanley William Hayter at Atélier 17.
Shreshtha began his career as a figurative artist but gradually moved onto abstract works. Coming from an aristocratic Nepalese family and ending up a struggling art student on the brink of starvation, resulted in him embarking on a spiritual quest, which has continuously been reflected in his work. He looked for answers to his early existentialist dilemmas in books on Western philosophy. Later, he turned to the Upanishads and to Buddhism and his paintings reflect these experiences.
Shreshtha’s abstract works are greatly inspired by landscapes, and sometimes echo the mountain peaks of his native home, Nepal; the pristine white light sears through the dense opacity of colour, creating dazzling effects. His desire to capture the expanse of the Himalayas allowed him to create his large-scale world. Shreshtha’s works are both sensuous and meditative in their shifts and balances of colour. There is an intermingling of vivid blues, yellows, reds, oranges, and browns. He is greatly inspired by Jazz and classical music and listens to it while he paints.
Since the early 1960s, Shreshtha has held numerous solo exhibitions of his works, and has also been represented in major curated exhibitions, both in India and internationally. He has been the recipient of many awards, fellowships, and honours, including the French Government Scholarship, the British Council Grant, and the Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD, Germany) residency.
Since the 1980s, Shreshtha has led an isolated life. He lives and works in Bombay.
