Shaw Of Talent

When one of India’s top 20 artists showcases his first-ever sculpture show, it has to make news. Babu and Bibi by legendary artist Lalu Prasad Shaw, which opened at Gallery 7 in Mumbai last month, certainly does. An enormously gifted artist, Shaw has earned his name and fame by remaining faithful to the past traditions of Indian art. The artist’s statement, “Art needn’t be realistic, but it absolutely must be truthful” portrays his modern yet ethnic line of thought. The sculpture show has a line of 12 limited edition pieces and as little as five pieces per sculpture – all of which are life-size bronze sculptures.

- Maria Louis

Born in Bengal in 1937, Shaw completed his education in Fine Arts at the Government College of Arts and Crafts in Kolkata. Influenced by the pre-independence Company School of Art, the traditional Kalighat Pat and the Ajanta cave paintings, the artist’s works, mainly executed in gouache or tempera, are as simple and