Artist Prakash Bal Joshi on India Art

Prakash Bal Joshi
Prakash Bal Joshi began drawing the moment he got hold of a chalk and slate and he drew a zero before writing down the first alphabet. Primarily a self taught artist, he spent a long time working on natural forms and through sheer observation and practice, mastered the finer nuances and subtleties of abstract art forms.
As a painter, he is spontaneous and his work is the culmination of deep thought process posing basic fundamental questions regarding his own existence. He switches effortlessly from using a pen to write his inner thoughts and observations to a pencil or a brush to express much more complicated inner turmoil. He has been holding pen and pencil together for more than three decades Joshi's keen sense of observation also comes from being a veteran Mumbai based journalist who worked with several national publications including The Times of India. Having renowned painter Ara as a guide and father figure, he has developed his own style of expression. His ink pen lines on paper as well as brush strokes on canvas are equally spontaneous and powerful.
His first solo show at Artist's Centre, Mumbai in June 2006, “Gateway” included drawings in ink and abstract paintings based on inner perceptions of nature. Here, landscapes and human figures intermingle to form their own unique shapes and textures. Reflecting an inner turmoil, the paintings basically revolve around the eternal dilemma : who am I and why do I draw.
Artist Statement :
Words and images have been an inseparable part of my life for as long as I can remember. They have always played a pleasant game in my life, complementing each other almost at all times. Their relationship never ceases to amuse me. In fact, my love affair with these two began way before I even became aware of their indispensable presence. When one failed, the other rushed to my succor. Often, when words are inadequate or fail to keep with the pace of my mind, I suddenly switch over to lines and inadvertently so and vice versa too. A glimpse at my college note books is a testimony to this complex process.