Born
1949, Pune
Education
Government Diploma in Fine Art, Abhinava Kala Mahavidyalaya, Pune
Biography
Born in 1949 in Pune, Maharashtra, Bhalchandra Mandke pursued a Government Diploma in Fine Art at the Abhinava Kala Mahavidyalaya, Pune, and later taught art at the same institute for 30 years.
Mandke’s art is deeply rooted in the auto-biographical. His art practice has undergone many changes stylistically, each with a change in his lifestyle. His early watercolors depict a sense of rural calm, reflecting his childhood memories of the rural, lyrical landscape. The figures were serene and nonchalant, a reminder to urban viewers of the absence of calmness in their lives. With his move to the city of Pune, the artist claims his oeuvre changed as did his medium. City life, the artist believed, called for itself to be rendered in oils and acrylics, leaving the soft, poetic world of watercolors behind.
Mandke’s art gradually moved from the figurative towards semi-abstraction, and then to the complete abstraction that is evident in his art today. His recent work, devoid of figuration, turns instead towards the ideal of tranquil existence, unknown to human civilization. Colour gained an unprecedented importance in these works, with reds and ocher taking precedence on his palette.
Mandke has had solo shows at Hotel Oberoi Sheraton, Mumbai, in 2004; Khushboo Art Gallery, Pune, in 1999; Gujarat Hall Art Gallery, Mumbai; and Grindlays Bank Gallery, Mumbai. His work has also been a part of group exhibitions at Art Point Gallery, Mumbai; Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai; Soulkurry Art, Mumbai; Nehru Centre, Mumbai; and Balgandharva Art Gallery, Pune.
The artist was honoured with an award from the Chitari Academy, Pune, in 2003; and from the Creators, Ambala Cantonment, in 1995.
