No Room For Lies

Sunil Padwal draws on the interplay of opposites to create the strikingly honest works that have made him a visual artist of repute

How has formal education impacted your journey in art?

SP: I grew up in an extremely humble, lower middle class chawl in Mumbai, in a place called Kumbharwada. I attended Wilson High School in Girgaum, and while I hated the experience, I realized that I enjoyed drawing more than anything else. I used to make chalk drawings on the walls in the chawl. On my art teacher’s insistence I visited J.J. School of Arts and got admission in the Fine Arts program. Once there, I was on cloud nine. For a person who had zero exposure to art, J.J. was like a Mecca. I was suddenly exposed to a new world where I got all the freedom I wanted! Unfortunately, because of financial pressure I had to switch from Fine Art to Applied Art. I learnt all the basics of art at J.J. I believe my education there changed me for the better personally. I graduated in 1989 and worked in advertising for about five years. In 1994, thanks to RPG Foundation, I got my first break – I was able to exhibit my paintings.

Which media do you prefer to work in?

SP: After doing painting, sculptures and installations, I revisited drawings in 2004. I love drawing as a medium because it keeps me engaged. My line drawings are a mirror of my overlapping thoughts, which eventually transcend into interesting forms. I don’t think I could have expressed in any other medium as clearly as I have managed through my drawings. They are meticulously rendered line drawings, and there is certain clarity in execution; a few are mystical but most of them have a tangible thread. A distinctive imagery has developed through making drawings. The interplay between nature and urbanity, real and imaginary, cityscape and memorabilia, mundane objects and surreal creations, all of it creates a nearly sculptural level of depth. Urban reality blends into an abstract world.