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Satish Gujral (1925–2020) was an Indian artist, architect and writer. He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan award in 1999. Satish was known for making paintings on the partition. He passed away on 26 March 2020 due to old age.
Wiki/Biography
Satish Gujral was born on Friday, 25 December 1925 (age 95 years; at the time of death) in the city of Jhelum in the Punjab province of British India (now in Pakistan). Many schools refused to admit Gujral because of his hearing impairment. Eventually, he discovered his interest in painting and then in 1939, he enrolled at the Mayo School of Arts in Lahore to study applied arts. In 1944, he moved to Bombay and joined the Sir JJ School of Art. In 1947, due to a prolonged illness, he had to leave school and leave for Bombay. Later in 1952, Satish was offered a scholarship to study at the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City for a contract under renowned artists Diego Rivera and David Alfaro Secarios.
Satish Gujral in childhood
Physical Appearance
Height (Approx): 5′ 7″
Weight (Approx): 65kg
Hair Colour: Gray
Eye Colour: Hazel Brown
Family
He belongs to a Punjabi Hindu Khatri family.
parents and siblings
Satish’s father Avtar Narayan Gujral was an Indian politician, and his mother Pushpa Gujral was a homemaker. Satish had a brother named IK Gujral, who was the 12th Prime Minister of India. His sister-in-law, Sheila Gujral, was a noted Hindi poet, and his nephew, Naresh Gujral, was also a politician.
wife and kids
Satish was married to Kiran. The couple had a son, Mohit Gujral, an architect, who was married to former model Feroze Gujral. Satish and Kiran also had two daughters, Alpana Gujral and Rasil Gujral. Alpana is a jewelry designer and Rasil is an interior designer who owns a luxury store named Casa Paradox and Casa Pop.
Satish Gujral with his wife Kiran
Religion/Religious Thought
He follows Hinduism.
signature/autograph
Signature of Satish Gujral
livelihood
painter
art works
Satish Gujral imbued his works with depth and meaning of politics and family. Early in his career, his work was deeply influenced by the suffering of individuals who lost their homes and families due to the partition of the country. After seeing that horrific incident, he could not stop himself from including his personal experience in his creations. Later, he realized that people would not like the same type of art over and over again, so he started adapting his own artistic style. Satish gradually started varying the materials used for his sculptures by using machine made things made of steel, copper, glass etc. They also used waste to bring life to the idols.
Partition painting by Satish Gujral
Satish Gujral’s painting
solo show
During the years 1952 to 1974, Satish Gujral held solo shows across the world depicting his sculptures, paintings and graphics. He covered cities including Mexico City, New York, New Delhi, Bombay, Calcutta, Montreal, Rome, Berlin, Tokyo, Buenos Aires and Stockholm. His paintings and sculptures showed greater development in terms of content and concepts. He began by using mosaics and ceramic tiles to create large paintings and later replaced them with machined steel elements. He created. Satish Gujral’s burnt wood sculptures seem to clearly evoke human and otherworldly forms.
Satish performing his art
architecture
In an interview, Satish claimed his boredom with art as he felt that he had worked in every aspect of art. As a result, despite having no formal architectural education, he chose to pursue his profession in architecture in 1968. Soon Belgian diplomats approached him to set up their embassy in India. In 1984, he completed the design of the Belgian Embassy in New Delhi, which was chosen by the International Forum of Architects as one of the finest buildings constructed in the 20th century. He then built signature buildings such as the ‘Summer Palace of Saudi Arabia’ in Riyadh, the ‘CMC Research Center’ in Hyderabad and the University of Goa. Later, Satish shifted his focus back to painting. In an interview, he shared his experience in designing the Belgian Embassy and said;
I didn’t think about the architecture intellectually, I just designed it through some sort of instinct, and when I finished it I still didn’t know what I had done. As always with creative work, an artist continues to surprise himself with the work he creates.
Belgian Embassy in New Delhi designed by Satish Gujral
publications
Satish wrote his first book in 1993, “The World of Satish Gujral in his own words”. The book depicts his struggle, youth and creative artwork. Satish wrote an autobiography in 1996 titled “A Brush with Life: An Autobiography”. In 2001, he wrote a series of books called the ‘Pocket Art Series’, which include “Drawings and Collages,” “Where the Silence Speaks Painting,” and “Sculptures.”
Satish Gujral’s book ‘Drawing and Collage’
Sculptures by Satish Gujral
Exhibition in India Art Fair
Satish Gujral decided to display some of his personal artwork collection from 1950 to 2013. In 2014, he displayed around 26 paintings and sculptures at the ‘India Art Fair’.
Awards, Honors, Achievements
- In 1972 and 1974, Satish won the ‘National Award for Sculpture’
- He was awarded the ‘State Honor’ by the Government of Punjab in 1979
- In 1983, he achieved the ‘Order of the Crown’ in Belgium
- In 1989, he was awarded the ‘Leonardo da Vinci Award’.
- In 1989, Satish acquired ‘Desikotama’ by Shantiniketan
- In 1998, he was awarded an ‘Honorary Doctorate’ by Visakhapatnam University
- Satish Gujral received India’s second highest civilian award ‘Padma Vibhushan Award’ in 1999
- In 1998, Gujral received the International Award for ‘Life Time Achievements’ in Mexico
- He received the ‘Lalit Kala Ratna Award’ in 2004.
- Gujral was honored at the Golden Jubilee Celebrations of the National Gallery of Modern Art in 2005.
- In 2010, he received the ‘Amity Lifetime Achievement Award’ for the arts from the Amity School of Fine Arts.
Satish Gujral honored with ‘Amity Lifetime Achievement Award’
net worth
His net worth is 1 million.
Death
On 26th March 2020, Satish Gujral breathed his last of old age at the age of 95 at his home in Delhi.
facts/common sense
- His name is mentioned in the “International Dictionary of Art” published by Macmillan, UK
- Satish Gujral criticized fellow artist MF Hussain for focusing on Hindu deities.
- Several documentaries have been made on Satish Gujral, one of which was based on his autobiography ‘A Brush with Life’, which was released on 15 February 2012.
Documentary ‘A Brush with a Life’
- Satish was part of the telefilm ‘Partition: The Day India Burned’ released by BBC.
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn