Home Ganesh Haloi
About
Acclaimed artist Ganesh Haloi is renowned the world over for his stupendous contribution to the Indian art scene. He has been a forerunner in this profession for over half a century and even now he strives to reinvent his style with every new work that he lays his hands upon.
All his works of art and motifs are closely associated with his inner self. This clearly manifests in his works because they depict the cataclysms that he has faced and also his view towards life. Apart from painting, Haloi has set very high standards in craftsmanship.
Ganesh was born in the year 1936. He spent his childhood in the town of Jamalpur in Mymensingh province. Today, this province is a part of Bangladesh.
After the partition, Haloi was forced to move to Kolkata in the year 1950. He was just 14 years old when he had to go through the traumatic ordeals of uprooting. This tormenting experience left a deep impression on most of his works in the following years. So it is clearly evident that through colors and brushes, he seeks quietude.
Education & Work
In the year 1956, Haloi obtained his graduation degree from the prestigious Government College of Art and Craft, in Kolkata.
He continues to be a member of the Society of Contemporary Artists since 1971.
At present, Haloi lives in Mumbai, India and is still an avid painter because of his distinct enthusiasm for art.
Following his degree in Art, Ganesh Haloi joined the Archaeological Survey of India. His onus was to make copies of the Ajanta murals as a part of monument restoration projects.
This led to his preliminary works that were highly inspired by the monuments that he sculpted.
Later he started to closely study the renowned miniature art motifs at Banasthali in (Rajasthan). These art forms had a deep impact on him and emulated in his work; simultaneously he kept onreplicating Ajanta frescoes for six whole years.
So, his profession had a cavernous effect upon all his paintings in this period. This was the period where Ganesh’s works strongly exhibited a characteristic finesse that was previously absent.
Gradually, he shifted his focus towards several other mediums and began to paint figures in landscapes. Some of his early landscape arts were painted upon rice paper, a unique base. Haloi derives inspiration from pain, and it still remains the centre of focus in his works.
That is why even his vivid landscape art emanated a nostalgic recall of a long-lost world. At present, Haloi concentrated on abstract renderings of landscapes. While his aforementioned works portrayed landscapes only, later on all his canvases echoed his reclusive and metaphysical disposition. That is why Haloi's work till today shows his temperament which revolves around the leitmotif of desolation and catastrophe.
So one can say that over the years, Ganesh Haloi'sworks have undergone achange; from pure landscapes he has now shifted towards the depiction of inner emotions andhuman thoughts.
Awards and Accolades
Ganesh Haloi has achieved the Late R.N. Chakraborty Memorial Gold Medalfrom Calcuta University in 1956. Thereafter he went on to win seven silver medals from Calcutta University between 1953 and 1955 as well as Gold medals from the Academy of Fine Arts, Kolkata. Other accolades include a cash prize from Lathan Foundation U.S.A and SiromaniPuraskar from RabindraBharati.
