An exhibition of paintings and installations by Indian artist Atul Dodiya, depicting the kaleidoscopic changes to the city of Mumbai (Bombay), is being held at The Japan Foundation Forum in Akasaka, Tokyo.
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| "Tomb's Day" (2001), enamel-on-laminate triptych, by Atul Dodiya |
Dodiya's style is said to reflect India's urban culture, and his masterpieces are influenced by the everyday lives of people in large cities such as Mumbai, a melting pot of different cultures.
In his work, Dodiya expresses these large cities as labyrinths, heavy with the fear of never knowing what will happen at the next turn, and at the same time as laboratories full of exciting possibilities.
Born in Mumbai, Dodiya received his diploma in 1982 from the Sir J.J. School of Art where he studied painting. He began to participate in group exhibitions in the early 1980s and in 1989 held his first solo exhibition in Mumbai.
In the 1990s, he expanded his field to three-dimensional artwork, using ready-made items such as shutters, signboards and ladders as canvases on which to paint his visions.
Since then, his work has been featured in exhibitions in and out of India, including a solo exhibition at Gallery Apunto in Amsterdam and alongside works by fellow artists in "Out of India: Contemporary Art of the South Asian Diaspora" in New York. In 1995 in New Delhi, he was presented with India's prestigious Sanskriti Award. At present he continues to live and work in Mumbai.
On display in this exhibition are major works from the 1990s to the present, featuring 20 paintings and 20 installations such as roller shutters, ladders and slides, giving viewers the opportunity to step into the everyday life of India's urban culture.