Artist Profiles > D > Atul Dodiya
Born in Mumbai in 1959, Atul Dodiya is one of the most sought after contemporary Indian artists today. He completed his Bachelor in Fine Arts from the Sir J. J. School of Arts in Mumbai in 1982 and has been passionate about painting since his childhood. He came to prominence in 1999 with his series of watercolours of Mahatma Gandhi. This was followed by his acclaimed Bombay:labyrinth/laboratory show at the Japan Foundation Asia Center in Tokyo. It included a selection of the artist’s paintings on store shutters, and other works created with ready-made objects that reflected his concern with Indian middle-class aspirations and the impact of globalization on traditions underlying each individual reality.
Atul’s images tell stories. He draws heavily on historical influences that he both accepts and internalizes. During his collaboration at STPI, Atul worked on a series about Sabari, one of the characters in the classical Indian epic Ramayana and how her story still holds relevance to us today.
In 1999, the artist won the Sotheby’s Prize for Contemporary Art and in 2000, his works were shown in London at the Tate Gallery exhibition ‘Centuries Cities: Art And Culture in Modern Metropolis.’ His works were featured in a satellite exhibition at the 2005 Venice Biennale.