I will be away from the gallery between October 6th and October 13th, and so will not be shipping or open for visitors at the gallery. The Indigo Arts website will be active as always. I will respond to emails as soon as possible. I will be able to ship orders after October 14th, 2024.

Note:
With the high cost of shipping many of our customers choose to ship by USPS. For small and light shipments this is usually less expensive, but please be aware that their estimates are often wrong and only include insurance up to $100 for its domestic shipments. If you ask for full insurance we will recalculate the shipping cost and send you an invoice for any difference in cost.

Shantaram Tumbada

About the Artist

Shantaram Tumbada photo C. Guillais Mumbai 2012
Shantaram Tumbada photo C. Guillais Mumbai 2012
Shantaram Tumbada Musée Urbain Tony Garnier Lyon 1995
Shantaram Tumbada Musée Urbain Tony Garnier Lyon 1995
Mural in process - Musée Urbain Tony Garnier Lyon 1995
Mural in process - Musée Urbain Tony Garnier Lyon 1995

Shantaram Chintya Tumbada was born in 1975 in Thane District, Maharashtra.
I first met Shantaram Chintya Tumbada in 1997 at the Alliance Française in Mumbai. He was presented to me by Vishwas Kulkarni, the nephew of Bhaskar Kulkarni, one of the first great specialists in Warli art as well as being a painter and anthropologist. Bhaskar also taught Vishwas the Warli dialect, which made him a particularly interesting guide. In Mumbai I came across a poster of an immense mural painted by a Warli artist who, until then, was unknown. On reading the caption, I learned to my amazement that the painting had been created in 1995 in my hometown, Lyon, in France! And I had had to travel to the other side of the world to discover it! The wall painting had been created as part of the Tony Garnier urban museum in which five painted walls represented five continents. The organizers had chosen a young, virtually unknown Indian artist from the Warli tribe called Shantaram Chintya Tumbada.

From 1996 to 1999, Shantaram and myself met on numerous occasions, as often in his tribe as at my home in Pondicherry where I held workshops and staged exhibitions. Shantaram’s style is characterized by great simplicity and graphical precision and his drawings are as elegant as they are effective. In 1995 Shantaram produced several series of drawings, adapting creation myths to the modern age.

This association of meticulousness and charm enthralled me. How was it possible to spontane- ously have achieved such graphical maturity, comparable to that seen in logos designed by the best graphic designers? I asked him to create several series of drawings in which a single figure fully filled the space. Fascinated by the refinement of his drawings before he had even filled in the white, I asked him if he would produce some simple sketches. These revealed the quality, assurance, awareness, fluency, and suppleness of his hand.

Using an extraordinarily basic and common iconography and a palette of just two colors, Shantaram and a few special artists from his community produce unparalleled art while continually renewing their interpretations of their ancestral art. They only need to be given an opportunity for their talent to flourish. However, unfortunately, they are still busy filling the demand from the handicrafts market aimed at tourists looking for exotic souvenirs and paintings produced quickly at low prices.

(above bio. courtesy of Hervé Perdriolle Galerie)

Region:
Migrant Train
SKU: SHTB-2102

Warli people, Maharashtra, India.  c.2020
White clay and cow dung pigment painted on cotton fabric.
(24” x 36” on 28” x 40” sheet)

$850

Fishing Net
SKU: SHTB-2103

Warli people, Maharashtra, India.  c.2020
White clay and cow dung pigment painted on cotton fabric.
(37” x 26” on 40” x 29” sheet)

$600

Tarpa Dance
SKU: SHTB-2105

Warli people, Maharashtra, India.  c.2020
White clay and cow dung pigment painted on cotton fabric.
(18” x 24” on 22” x 28” sheet)

"One of the central aspects depicted in many Warli paintings is the tarpa dance. The tarpa, a trumpet-like instrument, is played in turns by different village men. Men and women entwine their hands and move in a circle around the tarpa player. The dancers then follow him, turning and moving as he turns, never turning their backs to the tarpa. The musician plays two different notes, which direct the head dancer to either move clockwise or counterclockwise. The tarpa player assumes a role similar to that of a snake charmer, and the dancers become the figurative snake. The dancers take a long turn in the audience and try to encircle them for entertainment. The circle formation of the dancers is also said to resemble the circle of life."

$375

Life in a Warli Village
SKU: WRL-2003

Warli people, Maharashtra, India.  c.2019
White clay and dung pigment painted on fabric.
(12 1/2” x 9” on 14 1/2” x 11” sheet)

$155

Universe
SKU: WRL-2005

Warli people, Maharashtra, India. c.2019
White clay and dung pigment painted on fabric.
(10 1/4” x 13 1/2” on 13 1/4” x 16 1/2”sheet)

$155

Fish Aeroplane
SKU: SHTB-2101

Warli people, Maharashtra, India.  c.2020
White clay and cow dung pigment painted on cotton fabric.
(36” x 24” on 40” x 28” sheet)

$850

Product Status: 
Sold
Threshing and Reaping
SKU: SHTB-2104

Warli people, Maharashtra, India.  c.2020
White clay and cow dung pigment painted on cotton fabric.
(24" x 24” on 28” x 28” sheet)

$475

Product Status: 
Sold