Amit Ambalal
Amit Ambalal born in 1943, uses his satirical wit to develop a parody, a caricature and a mimicry into an expression. The pleasure he derives by a moving brush is evident in his act of image-making defined by the free flow and transperancy of colour and form. In 1979 he decided to abandon the role of a businessman and become an artist. That banishment of rigidity and this embrace of fluidity thrive on his will to be transparent and very human. His works become as much about birds and animals as about human beings concluding in satirical manifestations. Imbued with energy and wit, Ambala creates a visual language, where he often re-explores mythological themes and tales, and re-imagines mythical characters in a new idiom which is both secular and sacred. He works in watercolour, gouache, dry pastels and papier mache.
Amit Ambalal has exhibited in Gallery Espace, New Delhi; Archer Art Gallery, Ahmedabad, Academy of Fine Arts, Kolkata; Bodhi Art, Singapore; Galerie F.I.A., Amsterdam; James Harvey Gallery, Sydney amongst many others.
He is the recipient of the Civitella Ranieri Foundation Fellowship, Italy [2003], Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation [1974] and Gujarat State Lalit Kala Akademi [1968]. He has also participated in the India Art Fair, New Delhi [2010], 6th Bharat Bhavan Biennale of Contemporary Indian Art, Bhopal [1996].
Ambalal’s interest in Nathdwara Paintings of Rajasthan led him to publish a seminal book entitled Krishna as Shrinathji. He also held an exhibition of his personal collection of Nathdwara Paintings in Delhi.
The artist lives and works in Ahmedabad.
AMIT AMBALAL
Born in 1943, Ahmedabad, India
Lives and works in Ahmedabad, India
EDUCATION
Graduate in Arts, Commerce and Law
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2010
Sermons in Ceramics, Amdavad Ni Gufa, Ahmedabad
2008
Recent Works, Gallery Espace, New Delhi and Sakshi Gallery, Mumbai
2006
Black Spring of the Blue God, organized by Sakshi Gallery, Mumbai Gallery Maya, London
2005
Leela: The Lightness of Being, Bodhi Art, New Delhi and Singapore
2004
Sakshi Gallery, Mumbai
2003
The Civitella Experience, Hutheesing Visual Arts Centre, Ahmedabad
Archer Art Gallery, Ahmedabad
2001
Galerie F.I.A., Amsterdam
2000
Gallery Espace, New Delhi
1998
Archer, Herwitz Gallery, Ahmedabad
1997
Gallery Chemould, Mumbai
1996
Herwitz Gallery, Husain Doshi Gufa, Ahmedabad
1994
Gallery Espace, New Delhi
1993
Hutheesing Visual Arts Centre, Ahmedabad
1992
Contemporary Art Gallery, Ahmedabad
1986
Sanskar Kendra Gallery, Ahmedabad
1984
Contemporary Art Gallery, Ahmedabad
1983
Sangat, Ahmedabad
Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai
1980
Urja Art Gallery, Baroda
Academy of Fine Arts, Kolkata
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2012
Narratives of the Self: Autobiographies, Gallery Espace, New Delhi
2011
Masters Ltd: Limited Editions, Gallery Beyond, Mumbai
Of Humour, Wit & Satire, Gallery Threshold, New Delhi
Manifestations V, Delhi Art Gallery, New Delhi
The Intuitive: Logic Revisited, Osians Collection at the World Economic Forum, Davos, Switzerland
2010
Master’s Corner, Indian Contemporary Art Journal, Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai
National Printmaking Portfolio, Marvel Art Gallery, Ahmedabad
Manifestations IV, Delhi Art Gallery, New Delhi
Roots: 25th Anniversary Exhibition of Sakshi Art Gallery, Mumbai and The Park, Chennai
2009
Lo Real Maravilloso: Marvelous Reality, 20 Years Celebration of Gallery Espace at Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi
Think Small, Art Alive Gallery, New Delhi
2008
Mapping Memories – 2, Painted Travelogues of Bali and Burma, Gallery Threshold, New Delhi
Mapping Memories – 1, Painted Travelogues of China and Greece, Gallery Threshold, New Delhi
2006
Drawing Show an Act of Art II, Priyasri Art Gallery, Mumbai
Making of Divinity, Sakshi Gallery, Mumbai
Back to the Future, Gallery Espace, New Delhi
2005
Palette Art Gallery, New Delhi
Divine Inspiration, India Fine Art, Mumbai
Papyrus Works on Paper, Sarjan Art Gallery, Baroda
Group Show 2005, Lanxess ABS Gallery, Baroda
In Short, Hacienda Gallery, Mumbai
Bhupen Among Friends, Gallery Chemould, Mumbai
Angkor-The Silent Centuries, Bodhi Art, Singapore, New Delhi
Ritu – A Gathering of Seasons, Anant Art Gallery, New Delhi
2004
Art for Shaily, The Visual Arts Gallery, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi
Jiva / Life, Bodhi Art, Singapore
A Tribute to Bhupen Khakhar, Tao Art Gallery, Mumbai
Indian Artists for France, Alliance Francaise, New Delhi
The Margi and the Desi, Gallery Espace, New Delhi
Interlude in Srilanka, The Guild Art Gallery, Mumbai
2003
Of Memories, Dreams, Reveries, Anant Art Gallery, New Delhi
Shantipath, Tao Art Gallery, Mumbai
2002
Leela, Gallery Espace, New Delhi
Navarasa, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi
Cinema Still, Apparao Galleries, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi
2001
The Aesthetic Experience, Sakshi Gallery and Art Underground, Mumbai
In Conversation, Gallery Espace, New Delhi
Similarities and Dissimilarities – West, Tao Art Gallery, Mumbai
2000
Once Upon a Time, Gallery Chemould, Mumbai
Memoirs of the Past, Images of the Present and Picturing the Future, The Fine Art Company, Mumbai
Faces, Design Art, New Delhi
Beyond the Surface, Gallery Espace, Delhi and Fine Art Company, Mumbai
Early Works, The Fine Art Company, Mumbai
1999
The World is Round and Time is Cyclical, Art Today, New Delhi
Humour on Line, Sakshi Gallery, Mumbai
Icons of the Millenium, Lakeeren, Mumbai
Ganesha, Chauraha International, Birla Academy of Art and Culture, Mumbai
Multiple Images, organized by Sir Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy Parsee Benevolent Institute of Sir J.J. School of Applied Art, Mumbai
1998
Wilberding Collection of Contemporary Indian Art, National Gallery of Modern Art, Mumbai
1997
Major Trends in Indian Art since 1947, Lalit Kala Akademi, Delhi
Gift for India, Sahmat, New Delhi
James Harvey Gallery, Sydney
1996
Harmony Show, Nehru Centre, Mumbai
1995
Utsava, Festival of Perth, Amsterdam
A Tree in My Life, Village Gallery, New Delhi
Gouache on Paper, Gallery Espace, New Delhi
Post Cards for Gandhi, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Mumbai, Chennai, New Delhi
Indian Beast, The Gallery, Chennai
Watercolours – A Broad Spectrum, Gallery Chemould, Mumbai
Art for CRY, Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Bangalore
1994
Drawing’ 94, Gallery Espace, New Delhi
1993
Schoo’s Gallery, Amsterdam
Shraddha Samarpan, Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai
1991
Artists Against Communalism: Images and Words, Sahmat
A Gallery of Indians, Harvard
Gadyaparva Exhibition, Gallery Chemould, Mumbai
Chitragurjari ’90, Vishwagurjari, Mumbai
1989
Indian Contemporary Art, Amsterdam
Artist Alert, Delhi
ART FAIRS/BIENNALES/TRIENNALES
2010
India International Art Fair, New Delhi
1996
6th Bharat Bhavan Biennale of Contemporary Indian Art, Bhopal
1990
Third Painting Biennale, Bharat Bhavan, Bhopal
1986
Sixth Triennale, New Delhi
PUBLICATIONS
2014
Amit Ambalal: The Unseen Drawings and Paintings, Timothy Hyman published by Archer
2008
Amit Ambalal, by Gayatri Sinha, Gallery Espace
AWARDS
2003
Civitella Ranieri Foundation Fellowship, Italy
1974
Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, Ahmedabad
1968
Gujarat State Lalit Kala Academy, Gujarat
New Arrivals
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EXHIBITIONS
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