Manu Parekh, one of India most inventive painters, believes that a good artist draws
inspiration from everything around him. Parekh’s study of other people’s art inspires his
own work and reaffirms his belief that everything and everyone is connected. This book
showcases 42 new works painted over a single year by a master creating at the height of his
prowess. The paintings evince the variety of influences that have informed Parekh’s oeuvre
through the years: nature, worship and ritual, theatre and film, and the work of other seminal artists as well as his own previous works. Parekh returns to beloved places, themes, artists and creations, infusing each of the paintings with new energy and depth.
As Jeet Thayil says in the introduction, ‘Some artists repeat the success of their mature
years ad infinitum…. Then there are those who deepen and mix up the work, charging it
anew…. Manu is among the select latter group.’
MANU PAREKH is among India’s best-known contemporary artists. He received his diploma in Drawing and Painting from Sir J. J. School of Art, Mumbai, in 1962, and has held several solo shows and participated in a number of group exhibitions in India and abroad. He has been Member of the Society of Contemporary Artists, Kolkata; Member of the General Council, Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi; and Member of the Advisory Committee, National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi. Parekh received an honorary Doctorate in Literature from Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata, in 2013.
He was awarded the President of India’s Silver Plaque and the All India Fine Arts and Crafts Society Award, New Delhi, in 1972; the National Award from the Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi, in 1982; and the Padma Shri in 1992.