Vijay Shinde

"Indian ethos, philosophy and values form the core of my work," says Pune-based artist Vijay Shinde. "Art has no boundaries or barriers, but an artist invariably draws inspiration from the people and the surroundings around," he adds. On his part, the prolific artist has read the works of Swami Vivekananda and J Krishnamoorti apart from India’s popular mythological sagas to imbibe the strands of India’s mystical and spiritual traditions. Vijay Shinde thinks that an artist cannot be cut off from his roots, and his or her art will always reflect his thoughts and philosophy. Of course, he does not believe in thrusting his artistic values on the viewer. Rather he lets them draw their own conclusions, leaving his work open for interpretation.
"I more enjoy communicating with the canvas without any predefined notions or ideas. The quest for eternal truth has always been the singular force behind my works. I look to discover the ultimate, the divine force that drives us. It is invisible yet omnipresent in our lives.
I try to give expression to it through my work. The forces – repelling and attracting – between the heaven and the earth, the cosmic energies, the spirituality forms the core of my work. I try to convey these ideas to viewers through my work. I enjoy the process of creativity and leave everything else to the discretion of the viewer. The work has to be spontaneous. Your level of intensity will be felt by viewers," he quips. He prefers to let his works be untitled works because he wants the viewers to perceive his work on their own.
Vijay Shinde belongs to Sholapur in the state of Maharashtra. There was no encouragement to take up painting as a career then. However, he was interested in painting right from his childhood. Of course, the idea of choosing painting as a full-time vocation was not on his mind then.
It was only when he came to Pune to join Abhinav College of Art that his formal education in art actually began. He later came to Mumbai, and studied Fine Arts at Sir J. J. School of Art. This was in the late seventies. During this period, he could interact with doyens of Indian contemporary art such as Husain, Gaitonde, Raza, Padamsee, and Barve, to name a few.
In 1984, Vijay Shinde had his first solo show at Jehangir Art gallery. He has had over 22 solo shows apart from many prestigious group exhibitions that he has took part in. Among them is the inaugural show of Gallery Tao in January 2000 along with artists like S H Raza, Prabhakar Kolte, Sujata Bajaj, and Anant Nikam. He was also part of traveling show that comprised forty-four Pune-based artists who had come together to offer a tribute to Maqbool Fida Husain on his 88th birthday.
He is primarily known as an abstract artist. Initially he did portraiture and figurative work as well. Slowly, he turned to abstraction. Over the two decades or so, he has only done abstracts. What prompts him to do abstracts is the mystic element involved in them, and the subtle sense of expression and the intriguing relationship that he can establish with the space on canvas through abstracts.
His upcoming series of work that will be on view at Tao Art Gallery by the end of 2005 is about the spirit of awakening. Summing up the spirit of his new series, the artist says: "If there is no awakening and urge to change bitter things, hopelessness would result. So, there has to be a belief that things can change. I as an artist believe in goodness, humanity and human values. When these values deteriorate, I feel pained. The pain also reflects in my work, but ultimately, I always feel there is always hope"
Rimzon has held shows in galleries in New Delhi, Amsterdam, New York and Brisbane; these also include theme-based events and group shows. He was nominated for the Sotheby's Award for Contemporary Indian Art in 1998. The artist lives and works in Kerala.

Vijay Shinde's Art Corner