‘Space and time are interwoven with each other. Space is
unending and timeless. It cannot be destroyed. It is eternal. I find it deeply
spiritual. The artist in me strives to depict it through paintings. And that is
my eternal space,’ said Prafulla Dahanukar, leading contemporary female
painter, whilst explaining her paintings titled ‘Eternal Space’.
If space, which Prafulla strived to depict, through her
abstract paintings, is unending, timeless and eternal then Prafulla, as an
artist, has effortlessly merged into that fathomless, mysterious expanse of
space leaving behind a legacy of artistic wealth and a huge amount of goodwill.
Her contribution to the nurturing and growth of artistic sensibilities within
the Goan populace is commendable.
She was on board of the ‘Kala Academy – Goa’ for more than
three decades and along the way enriched the premier art and culture institute
with her valuable guidance and inputs. A pillar of strength and a guiding light
for several artists from Goa, she made it a point to take special interest in
the promotion of Goan talent in the rest of the country.
If Goa can be called the ‘Cradle of Art’ then Prafulla’s
birth, here in this land, cannot be an accident. Having spent her younger days
in Mumbai, after her birth on the 1st of January 1934, Prafulla
completed her training in fine arts from the prestigious Sir J J School of Art
in Mumbai with a gold medal. This was followed by a silver medal for her
painting in the Annual Exhibition of the Bombay Art Society.
Government of France awarded her a scholarship to study fine
art in Paris in 1961 after which she returned back to India. She followed her
return with several solo and group exhibitions.
However, Prafulla began to shape her artistic career and
making a mark on the international scene whilst, still studying, in Paris where
she held an exhibition of her paintings. And since then, she participated in
many international art shows in Germany, England, Hungary, Australia, Japan,
Portugal, Iceland, France, Switzerland and several other places. The High
Commission of India sponsored her first solo show, in London, in 1978.
With more than fifty one-woman
shows, several prestigious awards, success at noted auctions that includes
Osean and Sotheby and works in private and institutional collection such as at
the National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi; Prince of Wales Museum, Mumbai;
Lalit Kala academy, New Delhi and Central Museum, Nagpur; Prafulla remains the
most passionate and idolized Goan woman artist.
Looking beyond her personal
interest in particular, Prafulla worked for the whole artist community in
general and served their cause. She was on the committee of the Lalit Kala
Academy, New Delhi from 1974 to 1979 and the President of Bombay Art Society
for from 1993 to 1998. She was the trustee of the Jehangir Art Gallery for four
decades and President of the Art Society of India and the Chairperson of The
Artists' Centre, Mumbai.
Murals created by Prafulla adorn many prominent buildings in
Mumbai, Pilani, Kolkata and Muscat (Oman). She is recognized for these stunning
murals created employing ceramic, wood and glass.
Besides being a visual artist,
Prafulla took keen interest in music and its development. She was one of the
founder members of Sangit Kala Kendra with late Shri Aditya Birla and was a
committee member of the Music Forum. She was on the Board of Trustees of the
Indian National Theatre.
The members of the 125 year-old
Institution the Bombay Art Society turned up in huge numbers to vote in the
entire team headed by Prafulla Dahanukar with a thumping majority in the month
of May 2010. She was recently honored by Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai by
sponsoring her retrospective.
A feisty woman with zeal for life
and deeply philosophical approach to art, music and life, Praffulla had a very
humane side as well. She worked for the underprivileged and disadvantaged
through an orphanage called Bal Anandgram in Lonavala where she remained the
main trustee.
‘Her intensity comes across in her
works which she considers to be an extension of herself – her moods, her
perceptions, her personal philosophy as it has evolved over the years,’ says
Dr. Sarayu Doshi.
True. She’ll remain in the
empirical world through her works of art and inspire the generation to come to
work with passion and intensity.
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