J P SINGHAL'S PAINTINGS STIR UP THE ART WORLD

ART/CULTURE

by Shrutee K/DNS

Mumbai: The art world is silently paving way for a new master. After the demise of J P Singhal a little more than a year ago, his original paintings started appearing in the public domain and since then has been stirring up a resurgent interest in the artist. The reclusive artist whose original paintings had very limited public exposure was, ironically, the highest selling painter in India with his works being reproduced over 800 million times.

“J P Singhal’s realistic works are unarguably some of the finest that I have seen. I have always felt that he is the Raja Ravi Verma of this era,” says renowned artist Brinda Miller. And that is a view echoed by many in the art world. His range of mythological works is considered masterpieces that cannot be compared to any paintings across the world. A national award winner, J P Singhal has painted over 2700 original works, most of which belong to private collections. “I am extremely impressed with the works of J P Singhal. The clarity and distinctiveness are vivid and lifelike. There have been very few painters who could paint with so much vividness, clarity and distinctiveness. I am also very impressed with the way his older works have been preserved,” says art collector and industrialist Parvez Damania.

His first retrospective held in Mumbai last week saw artists, painters, actors, collectors and art aficionados congregating to pay tributes and view the works of the Master. “Even though I have been extensively photographed by J P Singhal, this is the first time I have been exposed to his paintings. This has been an exhilarating experience. The paintings are brilliant and beautiful,” says former Miss India and film star, Juhi Chawla. Ad-man Prahlad Kakkar meanwhile added that he was inspired by the works of J P Singhal to join the advertising profession.

Pradeep Chandra, a close family friend and author of bestselling book, “MF Hussain – A Pictorial Tribute” feels J P Singhal never promoted his works as much as he should have. “He was the highest paid painter of his time. Unlike others, he did not need to exhibit his works as they were purchased even before they were completed. One big fallout of this was that when the art market boomed; and Husain and Souza paintings became hot commodities, J P’s painting continued to remain private and out of sight from the art market. But with the family exhibiting the works after his demise, the art world is suddenly in a tizzy and galleries have started scouting for his original paintings,” adds Chandra.

In his early phase J P Singhal was greatly influenced by the ‘wash technique’ in water colours used by the artists of the Bengal school. “This genre of art was very different from the contemporary style adopted by artists of that era. With images that were realistic, distinct and clear, an overall look that was well-finished with soft, smooth and gentle controlled brush strokes, were his signature style paintings. Be it mythological themes, Indian beauties, film stars or rural folk, he evolved a style that was acclaimed by both the popular and critical audiences,” concludes Dinesh Singhal, Director, J P Singhal Foundation.