Modernist Painter Gulam Mohammed Sheikh’s Retrospective ‘Of Worlds within Worlds’ at Delhi Museum
- Sutithi Ghosh
- Oct 29
- 5 min read
Updated: Oct 29
“There are worlds within worlds that are continually being part of our daily experience, look not just at the surface, but the images that emerge from all the colours,” – Gulam Mohammed Sheikh
Poet, painter, and noted art critic, Gulam Mohammed Sheikh is famous for his exploration of cultural history and mythologies. The octogenarian painter from Gujarat has invented a path that affirms traditional heritage but also embraces contemporary expressions. His great contribution to the field of Indian art, spanning more than six decades, has been recognized by Padma Shri, that he was awarded in 1983, followed by the Padma Bhusan award in 2014.
Kiran Nadar Museum Celebrated the Legacy of Gulam Mohammed Sheikh
Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, Delhi recently housed a retrospective titled ‘Of Worlds within Worlds’ on this famous octogenarian artist’s works spanning six decades, celebrating memory, identity, and essence of humanity, including elements of fantasy.
Not only limited to painting, but Sheikh’s mastery also includes sculpture and interdisciplinary approach working with cross-cultural themes, mostly inspired by the Hindu epic Mahabharata, the life of Mahatma Gandhi, India’s freedom movement, and Sufi teachings from Sant Kabir Das – a poet and seer of great calibre. His works also depict his inner worlds, drawing on personal narratives of loss, chaos, and memories of partition.
The spectacular retrospective exhibition at KNMA in Delhi also showcased his writings, poems, sketches, and personal notes along with his paintings, which made his world of reflections palpable to viewers, layered with motifs and metaphors.
How It All Began for an Artist with a Humble Background
Indian contemporary artist Gulam Mohammed Sheikh hails from a humble, middle-class, Muslim family of Saurashtra, Gujarat, with orthodox family upbringing. He was drawn to art from the very onset even though he was raised in a conservative setup. After he went to the Baroda Art School, followed by his journey to the Royal College of Art in London, he was introduced to a whole new world of liberal ideas and thoughts. Once he shared that the past always stays in the present.
In the Baroda Art School, he was mentored by pioneers like K.G. Subramanyan as he was initiated into the diverse world of creation.
“A teacher can teach you the techniques of watercolour, pastels, but you have to seek for yourself what to do with those techniques. That’s not in our hands, that is entirely on a creator’s hands” – Gulam Mohammed Sheikh
He tried sketching whatever came to his mind, right from the image of an emaciated horse to the old and worn-out carriage. The image of the emaciated horse later became a motif for Sheikh.
His first solo exhibition also had some of Gulam Mohammed Sheikh paintings on horses along with landscapes. He was introduced to the modern art scenario after he met M.F. Husain, the great modernist painter who introduced him to other renowned artists of Bombay’s Progressive Artists’ Group (PAG) like Tyeb Mehta and Gaitonde.
It was a long journey for a village boy from Gujarat to learn English and read poems of Lorca. These poems inspired the passionate painter so profoundly that he gave his works lyrical titles, like ‘Death in the afternoon,’ ‘Mapping memories,’ and ‘Returning home.’
Of Worlds within Worlds: An Extraordinary Collection of Gulam Mohammed Sheikh Paintings and Artworks
The exhibition ‘Of Worlds within Worlds’ ended on June 30th at the South Delhi Museum, by one of Delhi’s most influential collectors of Modern Art and South Asian Art, Kiran Nadar, who also plays a pivotal role in negotiating art sales at major art auctions and organizing significant shows representing prominent artists of our times.
The art world of Delhi embraced and admired the phenomenal works of veteran artist Gulam Mohammed Sheikh, which comprised more than 190 artworks. ‘Of Worlds within Worlds’ reflected his interest as an art historian and poet, painting a complex world of emotions, weaving cultural history through intense stories.
Gulam Mohammed Sheikh Art Style: A Multidimensional Universe of Expressions
As far as Gulam Mohammed Sheikh art style is concerned, it is rather difficult to compartmentalize his works as realism, abstraction, or contemporary expression, as the artist merges all styles, thoughts, and experiences, adding personal memories to them. They are fascinating renditions of a poetically inclined painter who deeply engages in a dialogue between his immediate surroundings and his world within. It is like unlocking many doors to understand his works as they are loaded with meanings.
His works have continually absorbed the political backlash such as the Indian emergency of 1995, recurrent riots in his birthplace Gujarat, the rise of communalism, and more.
‘’Kabir was there, sitting at the back of my head, and in the long journey, various things have appended, episodes after episodes.’’ – Gulam Mohammed Sheikh
The retrospective focused on his six fruitful decades of creative activities that includes traditional mediums like pen and ink drawings, works of watercolours to digital collages, graphic prints, and more. His poems, sculptures, and photography were also featured. There was also an interesting part called accordion books, sheets of paper unfolded to reveal a Gulam Mohammed Sheikh artwork series of stories.
The Book of Journeys at the KNMA – Gulam Mohammed Sheikh Artwork of Accordion Books
The Book of Journeys started from the mid 1990s, emerged from the CODEX form, inspired by the Japanese CODEX styles. It emphasised Gulam Mohammed Sheikh’s love for simultaneous canvases and multiplicity. He traveled with this series to international locations like Italy and California, which took him more than a decade to complete.
The unfolded papers or concertina binding show recurrent images of Sant Kabir alongside major world events like the 2003 Iraq War with some abstract works. The 360-degree curation of the artworks allows the viewers to go on a blissful visual journey and to look at the whole of his creations, done in watercolour, from their own perspectives. The view can give one a feeling of life’s cyclic motion of entry and exit.
A Poet, Visionary, and Painter: Gulam Mohammed Sheikh Inspires the Modern Creative Minds
It’s fascinating for an artist to revisit their own works after some time. It gives them the scope to review, evolve, and mature as a creator. The same holds true for a visionary like Gulam Mohammed Sheikh, for whom each painting is a prayer.
One of his colossal works like Karawaan (Journey) stood out at the KNMA exhibition – a vibrant work of acrylic on canvas within a magnanimous frame approx. 21 ft wide and 6 ft tall, created between 2019 and 2023 (as mentioned in the image).
Sheikh likes to move on with other paintings keeping some of his artworks unfinished. If a painting is not resolved as per his plan, he prefers to come back to it later. And thus, it’s a chain of creative works that keeps his world alive and thriving, even at 88!
“No painting is ever completed; there is always another one waiting in the wings.” – Gulam Mohammed Sheikh
