A Reading Path Down a Rabbit Hole: Jagdish Swaminathan
Selected conversations, interviews and profiles with and about Shimla, Himachal Pradesh-born artist and instituion builder Jagdish Swaminathan
Profiles and interviews
- Jagdish Swaminathan - a prominent 20th century figure in indian art (Written by Yungming Wong, January 21, 2025)
- Tribal Art and J. Swaminathan
- Jagdish Swaminathan: Chasing the primeval
- Astonishing Form, Amazing Colours
Quotes & images
Swaminathan co-founded Group 1890, an artist collective that published a manifesto that criticized the “vulgar naturalism” of the Bengal School and the imitative tendencies of European modernism.
Instead, it urged artists to perceive their surroundings in a “virginal state”—a theme that became central to Swaminathan’s work. His paintings often featured vibrant colors and simple forms that reflected his deep connection with nature and spirituality.
His work is characterized by its simplicity and vivid imagery, reflecting themes of survival and the human condition.
It was in the late 1960s, he made a 180 degree switch, and did a series called Colour Geomtery of Space. And after he began combining elements from nature in his conceptual landscapes. Mountains, trees, rocks, and an archetypal bird defying gravity, juxtaposed against a pure expanse of colour to induce meditative stillness, became the artist’s obsession.
Kuch Hai readers want curation as catalyst rather than as a conclusion.