Jitesh Kallat Paintings are like little vignettes from his life. This innovative young painter delights the viewer with his self-referential paintings, depicting himself, his wife, and other members of his family. "My art is more like a researcher's project who uses quotes rather than an essay, with each painting necessitating a bibliography," says Jitish Kallat.
The use of self-image, which almost seems to be an obsession for him, actually is a way of addressing personal relationships, and can also be seen as his way of connecting with his ancestry, time and death…
Jitish Kallat was born in 1974 in Bombay, India. He pursued his Bachelor of Fine Arts in painting from the Sir J. J. School of Art in Mumbai in 1996. His interesting style soon earned him many admirers and soon he was hailed as the “one of the most promising young indian artists”.
Jitish Kallat’s method of Painting
Jitish Kallat deliberately chooses a method that is an abstract form of narrative. Kallat's uses photos a lot in his paintings, giving them an appearance that resembles popular advertisement. The collage like paintings are created applying numerous layers of paint and collage on a surface which is then dried. He then slowly peels away portions of the paint layers to give a weathered look to his paintings. This methodology also gives his paintings a commercial look to his paintings, making them more approachable to the viewers. He feels that the rough chipped and graffiti like surfaces in combination of the large sizes gives his paintings the feeling of an old Mumbai wall which are adorned with numerous film posters.
His paintings are indeed a celebration of the humble art of wall poster making.
His paintings are also characterized by the use of text, for titles. This particular aspect of his paintings is very important to Jitish Kallat because it’s an emblematic, which actually began as a classroom joke in the Sir J.J. School of Art and holds much sentimental value. These texts also infuse his paintings with humor.
This promising painter who is yet in the process of building his body of work lives and works in Bombay but his paintings have been exhibited all over the world.
|
