The ongoing exhibition at Bengaluru’s National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) is a tribute to India’s legendary master printmaker Devraj Dakoji’s life’s work.
Curated by Darshan Kumar YU and along with Amrutha R and Subarna Patro, the retrospective features over 600 of Dakoji’s works, whittled down from 3000 plus of his works.
“This exhibition is not really showing my new work. I did a lot of sketching and used to go out in nature to paint landscapes,” says the 79-year-old artist and Master Printmaker in India.
Born to a family of Ayurveda practitioners, picking herbs for his father every morning before going to school proved to be a lasting influence in Dakoji’s life and art.
“I see a lot of students involved in printmaking. However, the problem they are going to face is the availability of materials like printing inks and chemicals. They are scarce in India.”
I tell the students to research materials the way science students research. We need more ideas so we can find ways to tackle the unavailability,” signs off Dakoji.