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About the Artist

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Born. 9th November,1945, Kota

Shail Choyal is a painter & printmaker known for a distinctive miniature style of his own, through which he has carved a niche for himself in the contemporary art scene in the country. He infuses his works in the narrative idiom and also juxtaposes the allegorical with the real. Exploiting the inherent aesthetic motifs and the multi tier division of space of Rajasthani traditional painting, he has evolved a nostalgic art with an utmost modern sensibility. Vibrant colors and surreal settings add mystery to his paintings creating ethereal atmosphere & fantasy.‘City of Udaipur, with its glorious ancient Rajput architecture, lakes, hills, gardens and robust people with brilliant colors have always been my prime concern. Rigid angular form in horizontal and vertical lines punctuated with curvilinear motifs of doors, windows, still bluer lakes, domes and turrets all fill me with strong sense of nostalgia. For years, I exploited the visual references of my lovely city to project my own personal world that has been mystical and real as well’ says Shail.

 

 

Art Education

M.A. (Painting) 1969, University of Udaipur.

Studied Printmaking at the Slade College of Art, London under British Council Scholarship – 1975-76.

Ph.D.(Nathdwara School of Painting, A study of Painting from Mid 19th Century to Mid 20th Century) 1980.

Attended Fresco & Mural Course at Banasthali Vidyapeeth in the year 1968.

 

Awards

1969      Rajasthan Lalit Kala Academy award for Printmaking.

1970      All India Kalidas Exhibition, M.P award for painting.

1971      Bombay Art Society award for painting.

               All India Fine Arts and Crafts Society award for painting.

1972      Rajasthan Lalit Kala Academy for painting.

               Academy of Fine Arts, Calcutta award for painting.

               All India Fine Arts and Crafts Society award for painting.

1973     Bombay Art Society award for painting.

1974     British Council Fellowship.

1976     Rajasthan Lalit Kala Academy award for Printmaking.

1977     Bombay Art Society award for Printmaking.

1978     Bombay Art Society award for Printmaking.

             Rajasthan Lalit Kala Academy award for Printmaking.

1979    President of India Sh. Neelam Sanjiva Reddy award by AIFACS for painting.

1980    Awarded Ph.D. degree.

             Graphic—80, merit award.

            All India Mahakaushal Kala Parishad exhibition award for painting.

1981    Academy of Fine Arts, Amritsar award for painting. 

1982    National Award by Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi.

1990    All India Exhibition, U.P State Lalit Kala award for painting.

1991    ADOGI Mini Print International award for printmaking, Barcelona, Spain.               

 

Fellowships

British Council Fellowship to study Print-   making in Britain in the academic year 1975-76.

Fellowship on ‘Graphics and its Popularization’ by  the Ministry of Culture, Government of India (1980-82)

Senior fellowship for painting by H.R.D. ministry of culture, Government of India - 2000-2002

 

Honours and Offices Held

Taught at the Department of Painting, M.L.S.University,Udaipur between 1970 and 1999.

Acted as the Jury at the…

‘Gujarat Academy of Art and Culture’ ‘Jammu & Kashmir Academy of Art and Language’, ‘Rajasthan Lalit Kala Akademi’, ‘Andhra Pradesh Lalit Kala Akademi, Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi in their exhibitions and  ADOGI Mini print International exhibition, Cadaques, Barcelona, Spain in the year 1992.

UNICEF acquired one of the works for their greeting card.

Marlin Durrah, a film maker from Oragon, USA made a 20 minutes film on Shail’s Art.

Was elected on the general council as one among the nine eminent artists of India by Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi-1980;

Vice Chairman, Rajasthan Lalit Kala Akademi between 1981 and 1983.

Member- General Council, Executive Board, Triennial Committee at the Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi;

Commissionor - 6th Triennale, India, L.K.A. and compilled Indian section.

Commissioner from India for the Twenty First International Festival of Painting, at Cagnes Sur Mer, France.

Member on the Governing Council, Indian Council for Cultural Relations, New Delhi.

Member at the General Council of Sangeet Natak Akademi, New DCreative Director, West Zone Cultural Centre for ‘Apna Utsav’ held in Delhi in 1986.

Member on the Governing body of West Zone Cultural Centre.

Represented India at the Asian Festival, Bali (Indonesia), 1987.

Member on the Advisory Committee of Garhi Studios, New Delhi.

 

Academic and Creative Renderings

Assisted Shri Bhanu Bharti, an eminent theater director of India in directing a film on ‘GAVARI’ a famous tribal dance-drama.

Directed a 16 mm film ‘The Spirit is Alive’ on Nathdwara Painting for Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi.

 

Participation

India

1971        25 years of Indian Art Exhibition

1974        III Triennale, India

1979        Trade Fair Exhibition

1985       ‘Print-Making Today’, an exhibition compiled by Jehangir Art Gallery.

1980,81,82,84 Graphic- Chandigarh Museum & Art Gallery

1985       Graphic since 1900—an exhibition of prints compiled by LKA

1985       Graphic workshop convened by Prof. Paul Lingren and organized by USIS.

1985       Traveling Exhibition organized by Lalit Kala Akademi

1989       Self Portraits of Indian Artists by Village Gallery

                Participated in International Seminar and presented 

1991       A paper during VII Triennale.

1992       Invited to participate in the ‘Indian Contemporary Art’ an exhibition compiled by Birla Academy of Arts, Calcutta

1993       Invited by Ambassade de France for participation in the Show SOUVVENIRS D’EN FRANCE.

1997       Major tends in Indian art, LKA, New Delhi.

1999       Art & Cinema, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi

2000       Ravi Mamorial Trust, New Delhi

2001       Help age, Mumbai

2002       ’Half a foot’ a miniature formats exhibition, Organized by Dhoomimal art center, New Delhi.

2002       One man show at Dhoomimal Art Center – New Delhi

2002       8th Harmony show-Bombay                                                                      

2004       ‘Swarn rekha’ exhibition of  National & Triennale Awardees organized by Lalit Kala Akademi- New Delhi

2004       ‘Art for Vision’ - a charity exhibition curatted by Sushama Behl              

2004-05  10th and 11th Harmony Show-Bombay

2008       "Current Impressions: Prints by Contemporary Indian Printmakers" at 'The Frank Museum of Art' Westerville, Ohio and  at Otterbein college museum, USA.  

2008     ‘Art today in Rajasthan’ - Dhoomimal Art Center, New Delhi.

2009     Group Show – Choyals at Karnataka Chitra Ka;la Parishad, Bangalore

               Extension lectures continued till date (periodically) at Centre for Cultural Resources and Training

Abroad

1976         Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy, London.

1980         Ajia Bijutsu—16th Asian Modern Art Exhibition, Japan

1983         India Through Prints by Tropen Museum, Netherlands.

1985         India festival at U.S.A.

1986-87   I.C.C.R.’s traveling exhibition of prints to several European Countries.

1985         15th International Art Exhibition, Tokyo, Japan.

1985         Mostura De Cultura Indiana Lisbon.

1985         2nd  Asian Art Exhibition, Fukuoka, Japan

1989         21st International Painting Festival, Cagues Sur-Mer, France.

1989         Teressera Biennal De la Habana, the international Art Biennale At Cuba.

1989         Held one man show in Riga, Latvia

1990         Held one man show in escape Blue Gallery, Paris

1990         Participated in Group show at Kyoto organized by Shimin Gaiko, Japan.

1991         Participated in ADOGI, Mini Print International, Spain.

1992         Held one person show of graphics at ADOGI Gallery, Cadaques, Spain

1994         Held one person show at Aunkan Gallery, Osaka

1997         Participated in Sydney Art Festival

1997         Held one-man show at Frankfurt organized by G.T.D.

2000         Attended Langkawi international art festival , Malayasia

2010        ‘ La Dance Des Couleurs’ La Roteonde des Arts                              

                  Contemporarains, Abidjan, Ivory Coast, Africa. 

2010        4th International Beijing Biennale, China                                          

 

Artist Residency 

2008 Regional Centre, Lalit Kala Kendera Lucknow.

 

Camps 

India

Invited to participate in several Artists Camps at Delhi, Kasauli, Jammu & Kashmir, Shantiniketan, Bangalore, Chandigarh,Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Ujjain, Gwalior, Bombay, Agra, Nainital, Jaipur, Mollela and Udaipur.

 

Abroad

1987     Attended Asian Art Festival at Bali as an Indian Delegate  

1989     Attended International Seminar & Painting Workshop at Cesis, Latvia, U.S.S.R.

1993     Lectured at City hall Kobe and Shimin Gaiko, Kyoto

1994     Lectured at Art council, Osaka, Japan                                                            

1997     Participated in Sydney Art Festival

1997     One man show at Frankfurt curetted by German Development corporation (GTZ)

1997     One men show at Atelier Spiserhus Gallery, Rheinfelden, Switzerland

2000     Lectured at LIFA, Malaysia and attended International Art Festival at Langkawi

2001     ‘Scapes  contemporary Indian artists’ organized by Maya Puri and Sagiri Dayal at Hong Kong Visual Arts Centre

2009     Participation-India Art Festival at Kuwait                                                     

2011     Lectured at the ollege of Fine Art, Abidjan, Ivory cost, N.Africa                 

 

Tours & Visits

Visited  Art Galleries in Eastern & Western European Museums in London, Holland, Scotland, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Russia, Latvia Czechoslovakia, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, France, Spain, Japan, Hong Kong, Beijing, Thiland, Nepal, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia etc.