The Mughal Sikar Painting

Aakash Mali was born in 1999 in Vadodara district and Gujarat to a family of farmers. After graduation from high school, he studied Interior Designing from CEPT University, Ahmedabad. The design schooling was a starting point to provide him an exposure to the fine art discipline. He discovered a new visual vocabulary by taking inspiration from the Kota paintings and spent his time in Ahmedabad producing a series of works based on animal motifs -‘The Sikar’. While The Fantasy Landscape series and Bird’s Home Series appears to have blend of imaginative as well as observational elements which invites the viewer to put together a narrative. Mali uses a very artistic approach, the concept of drawing inspiration from his surroundings, nightmares and aspirations. His painting are incredibly dynamic, and has a very lyrical and fluid quality to it. The forms and figures depicted in his artworks ae constantly evolving, never staying steady which creates a sense of urgency. At the first glance his art appears to be quite playful and dramatic, but when a viewer takes time to explore it, they can witness the depth of emotion, hidden stories of suffering, and unspoken narratives within his work. He is having excellent control over brushwork, which adds to the richness of pieces.