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One of the greatest additions to the world of art was the introduction of Abstraction.

Art before the advent of modern art was subjected to the boundaries of figurativism and the conventional standards of academic style.

Artists were summoned by the powerful people and only the uplifted section of society could enjoy the charm of art.

All this ended with the arrival of Modern art. The journey of modern art ran through successive art movements like Cubism, Fauvism, Impressionism, and Abstractionism.

Out of these abstract art was something that completely transformed of what art was known for.

Abstraction – A sign of nothing that says everything

If you search the meaning of abstract, it is – ‘Existing in thought or as an idea but not having a physical or concrete existence’.

So, abstraction is all about how crisp and unrelated your artwork is to the real-life elements in terms of appearance.

Actually, when modernism started, artists were fed up of the stagnant and boring process of imitating real-life elements be it landscape, religious epics, and mundane routine of people or portraits.

Art is and will never be something that can be chained. The farther and more intense your thought process goes the better becomes your artistic instinct.

This was the notion with which modern art movement started.

However, when abstraction came, everything changes.

See the famous abstract paintings and examine the randomness and uniqueness in each work by yourself.

Abstraction is all about creating such patterns, designs, and images that are totally unrelated to anything in real-life directly.

The unstructured forms, the loosely thrown strokes of the brush, the non-uniform usage of colors, and the complexities of abstract art makes it highly compelling.

What artists wanted to achieve is to experiment and come up with new techniques for creating something totally distinctive and explicit that has the power to evoke emotions out of an observer.

Now you must be familiar with names like Jackson Pollock, Kandinsky, Picasso, etc. These are some of the world’s famous abstractionists.

However, do you know who ruled the abstract art in India?

Here is a list of Indian artists that were the masters of abstraction:

Ram Kumar

He was a banker – a writer too. So how could he join the list of most famous Indian painters of abstract art?

It was pure destiny.

Born in the year 1924, Ram Kumar, an economics graduate, become inclined towards art when he met legendary painter S.H.Raza.

From the time till he was working in a bank till 1948 when left his job, Ram Kumar knew his life isn’t going to be bound with a 9-5 working ritual.

He left for Paris in 1949 but came back to India in 1952.

Ram’s favorite genre of art was abstraction because of the limitless possibilities that were present with this style.

His main inspiration to pick a brush and make exquisite paintings were the common people in the newly independent India.

The most ecstatic attribute of his art was the artistic vision with which Ram placed figures in his paintings.

His work, ‘Vagabond’ is considered as a gift of his brilliance and sheer imaginativeness. This piece was sold for a massive $1.1 million at an auction at Christie’s.

Tyeb Mehta

Another brick in the wall.

Mehta was one of the very few Indian artists who had the courage to leave the conventional and traditional art style and hop to abstraction when India was filled with nationalist feeling.

Actually, Mehta was a part of Bengal school that was solely focusing on creating artworks that could escalate the freedom movement of India.  

But Mehta is a visionary who always craved for more.

Being an art graduate from the reputed J.J.School of Arts, Mehta holds the record for being the most expensive artist of India for quite some time.

Adding to the list of famous abstract paintings, his famous piece, ‘Celebrations’ got the purchasing price of $15 million.

He is one of the few Indian artists whose multiple paintings were sold for millions of dollars – For instance, his impeccable creation ‘Kali’ was sold for a staggering $10 million and ‘Gesture’ got a price of whopping $31 million.

Read more: Mystical Forms of Famous Abstract Paintings

S.H.Raza

Meet the extraordinary, demiurgic, swanky, and one of the most popular Indian artists, Mr. S.H. Raza.

Born in the state of Madhya Pradesh in 1922, Raza wanted to join J.J. School of Arts but failed to do so.

During his initial days in Mumbai, Raza struggled to earn a living so he worked at a block maker’s studio.

Being a founding member of the famous Progressive Artist’s Group, Raza is being regarded as an eminent personality in the modern art movement of India.

The division of India and Pakistan left a brunt impression on Raza since his family moved to Pakistan and he stayed in India.

In 1950 Raza moved to France where he spent rest of his life. Despite this, his paintings were deeply connected with the cultural roots in India.

His famous painting is ‘Saurashtra’ (sold for INR 25 crore), which he made in 1983.

When it comes to famous abstract artists of India, Raza is one name that left an unforgettable mark on our heart.

F.N.Souza

Talking about rebels with artistic talent, we cannot oversee the talented, the visionary, the insurgent, the exquisite, and the restless, Francis Newton Souza.

Born in Goa, Souza moved to Bombay with his family when he was 5.

Souza was not the ideal artist material.

He was the odd one out, the one who always crosses the boundaries of rules and regulations.

Souza was never a follower. He got expelled from St. Xavier’s College and J.J.School of Arts because he refused to stay in the line.

After moving to London in 1949, Souza developed a keen interest in abstract art.

He moved to multiple countries but his attachment with India was too strong. Being an admirer of Picasso, Souza developed not so complicated abstract paintings.

People used to get offended by the bold and courageous works that displayed the evil practices and inequality that persisted in society.

One of the most famous abstract paintings made by Souza, ‘Birth’ was sold for a price of INR 28.76 crores in 2015.