Born in 1969 in the town of Koregaon, Maharashtra, Santosh More is an artist who has already found and settled in an idiom that is entirely his own - something that can take an entire lifetime of work, or for a lucky few, just a few seconds. As the renowned art critic Dnyaneshwar Nadkarni said at the opening of More’s first solo exhibition at the Jehangir Art Gallery in 1994, "It is clear that he has a very sharp mind, a clear understanding of what is subtle, mature art."
Santosh’s work has undergone a series of changes, reflective of his changing curiosity about the world around him which he then transforms into ‘ambiguous visual experiences’. His early works, mostly oils on canvas, show a mastery of form and structure, a keen command over colour, texture and line, as well as the relationship and balance between all of these components. More recently, however Santosh has dabbled in digital media, animation videos, sculptural objects and photography. Santosh’s recent work shows a preoccupation with space – both the public as well as the private. He makes strong statements about our contemporary way of life, where the idea or the notion of ‘home’ is constantly morphing. His work also points to the rural-urban divide, stemming again, from his own cultural experiences.
More graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Art from the Sir J.J. School of Art in 1992, and in the same year exhibited his works for the first time and also won his first major award from Bombay University for standing first in the final BFA exams. Since then, both praise and prizes for this artist have come his way without fail. Whilst he was in college, More won more than six awards from the institution in a mere three years. These included the Mayo, Camlin, Maharashtra State, Lord Harding and Shanker Palshikar awards.
Almost as soon as he graduated, More was invited to join a number of established Mumbai artists and display his work at the Jehangir Art Gallery’s Monsoon Art Show. In the same lucky year he won the Bombay Art Society Award and was honoured with a fellowship from his alma mater, the Sir J.J. School of Art to complete his Master’s degree there. He has since held several one-man shows of his paintings in Mumbai. His most recent solo shows have been “Reinforced Illusions” presented by Gallery Art and Soul, Mumbai and “Private Spaces” at Gallery Articullate, Mumbai. Santosh More has also been a part of several art camps, the most significant ones being “Bridging the ‘Urban’ and the ‘Rural’“– a site specific workshop at Samod- Rajasthan, organized by the artist Chintan Upadhay and another one conducted for the students at Sangli in Maharashtra.
Image: © Santosh More
