A chance discovery of a small landscape painting, by the poet Rabindranath Tagore, in his father's study, at the age of 13,led Paramjit Singh to take a journey of self realization which is still very much in continuation. This gifted painter uses his landscapes to evoke memories of a time gone by. His hills and woodlands tell us that the phenomenal world hides something, which the eyes can’t see.
Paramjit Singh was born in 1935 in Amritsar. He completed his art education in the School of Arts, Delhi Polytechnic (1953-58). He was the founder member of 'The Unknown', a group of young painters and sculptors based in Delhi.
Paramjit’s early Paintings
Paramjit Singh is a landscape painter with a difference. His early landscapes are evocatively silent studies of nature. His paintings can be seen as a painter’s reaction to the mysteries of nature. His preoccupation with Pittura Metafisica, a short-lived school in modern Italian Art is quite evident in early paintings. The sharp shadows and melting tones gave his paintings a transcendental aura.
Paramjit’s later Paintings
The eighties saw a radical change in Paramjit’ technique. The melting tones of Pittura Metafisica gave way for lush Indian landscapes, which reminds one of the mustard fields of Punjab. His later paintings were also characterized by a mystical vision of a transcendental presence. One can say that he is more Impressionistic now.
His paintings almost seem to invite the viewers to explore the world he has created for us. Paramjit has no qualms about admitting to being inspired by the Impressionists. In fact he says that like the Impressionist painters 'I, also, am a painter of light. For me the starting point is the physical elements of a landscape. From it I derive the inspiration to handle pigments in a way one handles language to give expression to one's subtlest thoughts and fanciful feelings. My use of pigments gives them, I feel, a tactile quality. The flexibility of the technique I employ allows me to decipher ever-changing meaning in the wave on the water or the wind that rustles the grass.'
Paramjit Singh lives and works in New Delhi.
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