Known for
his unique visual language and innovative approach, Amrut Patel’s art journey has spanned almost six decades. Over this long and
evolving period, his artistic expression has taken multiple directions. While
he has gained wide recognition for his abstract
paintings, he has also created a compelling series of works
influenced by tribal masks.
Engaging with abstract structures
on canvas—layered with light
and dark shades of colour and infused with musical undertones—he presents a world
where memory and the present coexist on the same plane.
Amrut Patel consistently challenges the popular misconception that abstraction is a formless or meaningless exercise. For him, colours and shapes have intrinsic significance, but it is ultimately the artist who must define their direction and context. If an artist cannot take responsibility for this direction, Patel believes they should not venture into the domain of abstraction at all. His solo exhibition at Gallery Prologue, Mumbai, began on June 12, 2025, and will continue until July 30. Curated by Urvi Chheda, this exhibition features his recent abstract works created over the last few years.
Amrut
Patel was born in 1947
in a village near Ahmedabad.
His artistic journey began in 1968
with a Diploma in Painting, after which he also
received formal training in fresco
and mural techniques. At a time when the digital era is characterized by virtual space, Patel had already begun exploring the concept of virtuality in art decades ago.
His ability to evoke a symbolic
or suggestive presence of reality in the virtual makes his work
particularly compelling.
While
studying art in the 1960s, Patel was initially drawn to miniature painting. The influence of folk art is also clearly visible in his
early works. As he progressed into the 1970s, his work briefly reflected
elements of neo-tantric art,
but he soon moved beyond that stylistic influence. Over the years, he has
developed a signature aesthetic in which abstraction
is fused with a subtle human
presence, making his visual language distinct.
When he began integrating human faces and body parts into his compositions, he deliberately chose abstraction over realism. While fragments of human faces occasionally appear, he has never adopted a fully realistic approach. Yet, his art unmistakably conveys the realities of life and the spirit of the times. His free-flowing shapes may be interpreted as expressions of human longing for freedom. These forms have appeared and reappeared throughout his body of works—symbols of liberation and continuity.
Patel
has worked with both defined
geometric forms and abstract
shapes, using them to broadly reflect human conditions and generalized identities. At one point, he
ventured into structural
abstraction, adding another dimension to his artistic
vocabulary. In essence, his art is a continual
exploration of human experience, traversing diverse paths—some
smooth, some challenging—along this journey.
To understand Amrut Patel's current exhibition, one must first decode the forms that emerge on his canvas and papers. These shapes—though unfamiliar—evoke a sense of recognition, as if they are rooted in lived experience. Some resemble the ruins of lost civilizations, while others echo the complexity of contemporary life. At first glance, his compositions appear simple in structure. He often employs varying shades of a single colour, layering them thoughtfully. At times, he introduces another colour subtly or applies it adjacent to the existing palette. Using acrylic paints, he achieves a transparency and depth akin to watercolour, giving his works a calm, contemplative quality.
This
meditative aura evokes a persona similar to that of Dhirudutt Nayak—serene and introspective—as
if a spiritual practitioner is silently chanting
mantras on the canvas. As a result, his works are free from visual cacophony—no
noisy clashes of colour or overly assertive shapes. And yet, amid the
abstraction, traces of the human
figure emerge, adding a sense of mystery and broadening the
interpretive possibilities of the work. This dynamic interplay between presence
and absence is what gives his art a multifaceted
resonance.
Many of his recent works feature geometric shapes, while others include architectural motifs—sometimes in the form of incomplete structures, suggesting a dialogue between the past and present. References to civilizational memory have frequently appeared in his older works as well, including symbolic depictions of archaeological characters. A similar sense of historical continuity can be seen in the current exhibition. Some paintings also echo the design aesthetics of ceramics and traditional crafts. In these works, even where humans are visually absent, their implied presence is palpable.
My
first encounter with Amrut Patel’s art was in 2004. Since then, I have had the privilege
of seeing his paintings on numerous occasions—both in his studios and at
various exhibitions. Each time, I found something new unfolding on his canvas. Although his painting technique has remained consistent,
the compositional direction continues to
evolve, always offering something fresh and forward-looking.
When a person expresses their experiences and emotions through a distinct visual language, the result becomes deeply personal. However, when an artist communicates with the audience through universal elements like colour and form, that expression transcends individuality—it becomes collective. This rarely achieved state is central to Patel’s artistic pursuit. He often poses the question: When will such a moment arrive? He answers it himself—only when an artist creates with complete sincerity, without any inhibitions, does this transformation happen.
Thus,
we often experience, while engaging with his art, the moment where the creator’s expression becomes the viewer’s own.
That is why Amrut
Patel’s art is not merely personal, but a social expression—a mirror of our times, a
reflection of all that is constantly happening around us.
