J P SINGHAL’S PAINTINGS STIR UP THE ART WORLD; ARTISTS DESCRIBE SINGHAL AS RAJA RAVI VERMA OF THE CURRENT ERA

J P Singhal’s Paintings Stir Up The Art World; Artists Describe Singhal As Raja Ravi Verma Of The Current Era

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 best selling 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.

About J P Singhal: Born on 24th October 1934 in Meerut (U.P.), J P Singhal began painting at the age of ten. At around the age of twenty, his work got noticed in Dharmayug (a popular TOI publication of the time) leading to his first Calendar getting published, which also brought him to the city of Mumbai. Thereafter, he became a household name and no one could better him in fine art realistic paintings. His work included more than 2700 paintings and over 80 crore reproductions of the same on subjects varying from mythology to beauties, to day-to-day life scenes, children, street musicians, tribals, exotic botanical specimens, wildlife, famous temple  sculptures, Ajanta and many others. He also played a pivotal role in the world of Hindi cinema as a prolific Portfolio Specialist, Concept Shoots pioneer and publicity designer and went on to design creatives for over 150 films. He also has published two Coffee Table books dedicated to some of his niche work that include photographs and paintings of Ajanta Ellora and Actresses of Hindi cinema.

THE FIRST EVER RETROSPECTIVE EXHIBITION OF LEGENDARY ARTIST J P SINGHAL LAUNCHED OPEN FOR PUBLIC VIEWING AT SIR JJ INSTITUTE OF APPLIED ART, MUMBAI

Artists, Actors, Glitterati Pay Tribute to India’s Leonardo Da Vinci At a Mega Preview

Mumbai: Legendary artist J P Singhal’s first ever retrospective exhibition was previewed today at a gala event at Sir JJ Institute of Applied Art, Mumbai. Titled, “A Retrospective,” the exhibition showcases over one hundred original paintings of the late J P Singhal, chronologically divided into six periods of his life. The event was also marked with number of artists, actors, writers and glitterati including Juhi Chawla, Pooman Sinha, Vishal Bhardwaj, Prahlad Kakkar, Sameer Mondal, Parvez Damania, Maria Goretti, Umesh Mehra, Zeba Kohli, Brinda Miller among many others paying tributes to the Master also known as India’s Leonardo Da Vinci.

(L-R) G.G. Waghmare, Dean, JJ Institute of Applied Art, Umesh Mehra, Juhi Chawla, Poonam Sinha, Author, Photographer Pradeep Chandra

A national award winner and India’s highest selling artist across all forms, J P Singhal has painted over 2700 original works which were reproduced over 800 million times. “In his early phase my father was greatly influenced by the ‘wash technique’ in water colours used by the artists of the Bengal school and the flowing lines of Chugtai. This genre of art was very different from the contemporary style adopted by artists of that era,” says Dinesh Singhal, Director, J P Singhal Foundation.

“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,” he adds.

Juhi Chawla at 'A Retrospective: J P Singhal'

The exhibition, ‘A Retrospective: J P Singhal’ displayed paintings from six decades of his career. The first section comprised of his works between 1950 and 1960. Devoted to the Meerut period, these works comprised of paintings done at the start of his career. The next section featured works done in Mumbai between 1960 and 1970 where he focused on mythological paintings and village beauties. The third section featured works between 1970 and 1990, comprising of works largely devoted to rural India. The fourth, fifth and sixth sections focused on his works from 1980 to 2000, 2000 to 2010 and 2005 to 2014. They focused on film industry related works and black & white photography; recreation of Ajanta & Ellora frescos; and sculptures and abstract forms respectively.

“In the late seventies, enthralled by J P Singhal’s works on rural India, Raj Kapoor invited the former to concieve the look of Zeenat Aman for the film Satyam Shivam Sundaram. So enchanted was Bollywood with the refreshing feel which Singhalsaab introduced that an instant and long association was immediately forged. Through his camera and styling, he conceived the creative feel of several blockbuster movies like Satyam Shivam Sundaram, Shaan, Mr. India, Henna, Tridev, Rocky, Border, Dil, Gadar-Ek Prem Katha, Hero, Betaab and over 150 other films,” says Pradeep Chandra, photographer and friend of J P Singhal for many years.

While working with his friend MF Husain on Gajgamini and Meenaxi, he was drawn towards contemporary art. His curiosity about this new style made him reinvent himself as a contemporary artist. He nurtured his feeling by creating a series of paintings in modern art. In his own words, to satisfy and pamper the child (Shishu) inside him, he made an attempt to create this art and enjoyed at the fullest while doing so.

“J P Singhal and JJ Institute of Applied Art have a very strong association. The school was close to his heart and his first solo exhibition was held here. So we felt it appropriate that his first retrospective exhibition also be held here. Even though more than 800 million reproductions adorned the walls of Indian homes, most of the originals were never made available to the public for viewing. Through exhibitions like these we would like our students and all art afficiandoes to appreciate and enjoy the works of this great artist,” concludes Prof. Shri G.G. Waghmare, Dean, JJ Institute of Applied Art.

About J P Singhal: Born on 24th October 1934 in Meerut (U.P.), J P Singhal began painting at the age of ten. At around the age of twenty, his work got noticed in Dharmayug (a popular TOI publication of the time) leading to his first Calendar getting published, which also brought him to the city of Mumbai. Thereafter, he became a household name and no one could better him in fine art realistic paintings. His work included more than 2700 paintings and over 80 crore reproductions of the same on subjects varying from mythology to beauties, to day-to-day life scenes, children, street musicians, tribals, exotic botanical specimens, wildlife, famous temple  sculptures, Ajanta and many others. He also played a pivotal role in the world of Hindi cinema as a prolific Portfolio Specialist, Concept Shoots pioneer and publicity designer and went on to design creatives for over 150 films. He also has published two Coffee Table books dedicated to some of his niche work that include photographs and paintings of Ajanta Ellora and Actresses of Hindi cinema.

J P SINGHAL FOUNDATION INSTITUTED TO MARK THE LEGEND’S 1ST DEATH ANNIVERSARY

Foundation To Keep The Legacy Of The Artist Alive & Promote Art

Mumbai: To commemorate legendary artist J P Singhal’s first death anniversary and to celebrate his life’s work, a Foundation has been instituted by his wife, Maya and sons, Dinesh, Rajeev and Sanjeev. The Foundation has been launched by his family with the dual objective of keeping his legacy alive as well as promoting Art.

“My father made his mark as a Calendar artist. This genre of art was very different from the

contemporary style adopted by painters 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, filmstars or rural women, he evolved a style that was acclaimed by both the popular and critical audiences. But with printed calendars going obsolete, this form of art has become rare. J P Singhal Foundation will try to keep this legacy alive,” says Dinesh Singhal, Director, J P Singhal Foundation.

Born on 24^th October 1934 at Meerut, he became a legendary name in the domain of Calendar Art in India and ruled the world of this art for more than thirty-five years. During this period J P Singhal painted over 2700 works, mostly in gauche, that were reproduced over 800 million times, making him the highest selling painter in India in any form. At a time, when fine art was the norm for calendars, Singhal singularly broke creative barriers and gave the genre much needed respectability and admiration among the critics. He drew inspiration initially from Masters like Chugtai, Raja Ravi Verma and Old Masters of Europe.

“After making his mark in Indian art, Singhal expanded on fine art with realistic mythologicals and bathing beauties and embraced the subject of rural folk of India which soon began to create a special interest within him. He realized that soon due to urban influences, the culture and dressing of the rural folk was bound to get corrupted and future generations would not even know of the past existence of this rich, age old culture. With camera in hand he travelled to the interiors of rural India to meet tribes where he observed their lifestyle, captured their images and later recreated them into paintings in a style unique to him; and thereby archived Real India on his canvas. Considering that he is the sole artist to have captured realistic images of the dying rural culture of India and which unfortunately has almost disappeared due to urban influence, the collection can be termed as a ‘National Treasure’. One can see the simplicity and the purity in his Art. The beauty of the Ajanta Caves, the Frescoes and the weather beaten textures on the walls of the Caves and the work done by artists of that genre later influenced him. Out of his passion for Ajanta he created beautiful paintings of Buddha,” says Pradeep Chandra, photographer and friend of J P Singhal for many years.

Singhal also had a long and successful stint in Bollywood, where, through his camera and styling, he conceived the creative feel of several blockbuster movies like Satyam Shivam Sundaram, Shaan, Border, Dil, Gadar-Ek Prem Katha, Hero, Henna, Betaab and over 150 other films. While working with his friend MF Husain on Gajgamini and Meenaxi, he was drawn towards contemporary art. His curiosity about this new style made him reinvent himself as a contemporary artist. He nurtured his feeling by creating a series of paintings in modern art. In his own words, to satisfy and pamper the child (Shishu) inside him, he made an attempt to create this art and enjoyed at the fullest while doing so.

He has received several National Awards for his Calendars and also for a Coffee Table Book on photographs of Bollywood Beauties.

“J P Singhal passed away last year on May 7, 2014 and with him a form of art that was strongly tied to his personality. Two years before his death he had held his first and last exhibition of his paintings at Jehangir. While death stole him from us, he was planning an exhibition of his iconic Bollywood photographs. He was amused by the fact that patrons felt his paintings looked like photographs and his photographs looked like paintings. Even though 800 million reproductions adorned the walls of Indian homes, most of the Originals were never made available to the public for viewing. The J P Singhal Foundation will seek to amend this by holding a series of exhibitions across the globe,” concludes Dinesh Singhal.

About J P Singhal: Born on 24th October 1934 in Meerut (U.P.), J P Singhal began painting at the age of ten. At around the age of twenty, his work got noticed in Dharmayug (a popular TOI publication of the time) leading to his first Calendar getting published, which also brought him to the city of Mumbai. Thereafter, he became a household name and no one could better him in fine art realistic paintings. His work included more than 2700 paintings and over 80 crore reproductions of the same on subjects varying from mythology to beauties, to day-to-day life scenes, children, street musicians, tribals, exotic botanical specimens, wildlife, famous temple  sculptures, Ajanta and many others. He also played a pivotal role in the world of Hindi cinema as a prolific Portfolio Specialist, Concept Shoots pioneer and publicity designer and went on to design creatives for over 150 films. He also has published two Coffee Table books dedicated to some of his niche work that include photographs and paintings of Ajanta Ellora and Actresses of Hindi cinema.