Suraj Ghai

The earliest works set the tone for the varied concerns of Suraj Ghai as an artist. During his student years he learnt the deft handling of colour from his teacher Sailoz Mukherjee. Besides, in his use of colour as emotion, he was influenced by Paul Gauguin and Henry Matisse among the French masters. Ghai explored and adapted the various genres and techniques like oil and tempera painting, water colours, pastels and graphics to his voice. His painting Village Scene was highly appreciated by his teacher and mentor Sailoz Mukherjee to the extent that he signed his initials SM along with the date 6.2.53 on the bottom right corner of the painting. Ghai was one of the first artists of modern India to work in abstracts. His pastel Immense Space drew critical praise from all his teachers, while his rendition of Dancing Peacock was considered a spot-on response to the challenge of abstracting the form and expression of dance on paper. Simultaneously with his mastery of abstracts, Ghai’s work also displays expressionist tendencies in paintings like Death and Flood Victims. Graphics were another forte of the artist during these early years, and works such as Life, and Lino-cut established Ghai’s mastery over this medium.

Towards the end of this period, Ghai’s major abstracts like Organic Existence (1957) and Transformation-Seed-Plant-Flower (1957) mark his emergence as one of the strongest artists from Delhi, and set the stage for important art events like the Seven Painters Art Exhibition and formation of the artists’ group The Unknown in 1960.

Dancing Peacock (1953), 7.5 x 7.5”, Tempera on Paper

Death–1 (1953), 20 x 13”, Tempera on Paper

Village Scene (1953), 10.5 x 15.5”, Tempera on Paper

Yachts in Strong Wind (1955), 11 x 8.5″, Linocut in Two Colours

Still Life (1955), 6.7 x 5.5″, Linocut in Three Colours

Mourning the Dead (1955), 8.75 x 6.75”, Linocut

Flood Victims (1955)

Figures in Space (1956), 44 x 16”, Oil on Canvas

Lino Cut (1956), 7 x 5″, Linocut in Three Colours

Transformation-Seed-Plant-Flower (1957), 72 x 51″, Oil on Canvas

Organic Existence (1957), 24 x 20”, Oil on Canvas

Life (1957)

Landscape at Lodhi Garden (1957), 19.3 x 15.7”, Oil on Canvas Mounted on Board