Santosh More
Santosh More – Artist Profile
Santosh More is a Mumbai-based artist whose works are primarily abstract paintings; and also dabbles in digital media, animation videos and sculptural objects. Born in 1969 in the town of Koregaon in Maharashtra, More shifted to Mumbai to graduate from Sir J.J. School of Art in 1992; ranking 1st in the final BFA exams. Whilst he was in college, More won more than six awards from the institution within a mere three years. These included the Mayo, Camlin, Maharashtra State, Lord Harding and Shanker Palshikar awards. This J.J. alumnus has been part of several group shows at Tao Art Gallery, NGMA and The Guild among others. Recent solo shows include “Reinforced Illusions†by Gallery Art and Soul, Mumbai and “Private Spaces†at Gallery Articulate, Mumbai. Santosh More has also been a part of several art camps, the most significant ones being “Bridging the ‘Urban’ and the ‘Rural’“– a site specific workshop at Samode- Rajasthan, organized by the artist Chintan Upadhyay and another one conducted for the students at Sangli in Maharashtra. He was also part of 11th Asian Art Biennale at Dhaka (2003).
More was lucky in being able to quickly discover his idiom, signature theme, approach and technique within the initial phase of his foray into the world of abstract art. His work on constituents of nature stem from his innocent days as a village kid cocooned in nature’s bounty, lost in his musings of observing these small pleasures at close length and in quietude, for hours together. Right from meditating to the sounds of the gushing waters of the village stream to observing his neighbours – a potter and a carpenter at work; mould clay and wood for their bidding. He converts small aspects from nature into humungous central figures on his canvas. So termite holes, butterfly, snail shells, leaves and petals or paper whorls appear robust and as bold silhouettes with a surreal charm. These stay afloat in a void that feels like Haiku; a void that isn’t blank but which accommodates tendrils in spirals, concentric ripples, chopped bark, and water droplets within perforated grids or undefined paths that appear as scribbles. More strategically paints them at select points to stimulate, energize and set to motion certain areas on the canvas, causing the canvas to brim with motion and a cosmic rhythm.
As the renowned art critic Dnyaneshwar Nadkarni said at the opening of More’s first solo exhibition at the Jehangir Art Gallery in 1994, "It is clear that he has a very sharp mind, a clear understanding of what is subtle, mature art."
