Avtarjeet Singh Dhanjal
Avtarjeet Singh Dhanjal is an England-based sculptor of Indian origin.[1]
Early life
He was born on 10 April 1940 in a small village, Dalla, in Ludhiana, Punjab, India to a craftsman. After graduating high school in 1956, he worked as a carpenter, sign-writer, before joining the Arts School at Chandigarh. His first wood carvings were immediately (1966) purchased by the Chandigarh Museum[2] and encouraged him to venture into large works in various mediums.
Again in 1968 his large sculpture about space travel was revealed immediately after the launch of Apollo 8. This was also purchased by the Chandigarh Museum.
Education
After completing his education in 1970, he left India to tour East Africa, where he traveled and exhibited his works on paper in Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia and Ethiopia, and landed a teaching job at the Kenyatta University College in Nairobi.
Career
Not satisfied with the easy job of teaching he left (1974) to study further at the St Martin’s School of Art, London. Lived in London 1975-1987 and moved to Ironbridge in 1987, where he still lives and works.
Current Projects
- Searching for Light – In continuation of series of works in Slate & Candles, alluding to the dark nights in the village, where I grew up in India, present work using camera as a tool to capture the spirit of the dark nights in black and white images.
- Limitless – "Where scientist’s logic stops, the artist’s" intuition picks up’.
Through my new work on paper and in my writing I am exploring the limitlessness of the space in art in the universe. I am using artist’s intuition to imagine the limitlessness of the universe. I am using the same intuition that was used by Democritus and Anaxagoras to postulate their theory of nuclear structure.
Exhibitions
2007 Feb-Mar, ‘Third Culture’, Kaapeli, Helsinki, Finland. Apr-May, ‘Their Culture’, Rundetaarn, Copenhagen, Denmark.
2006 Kala Maitri, The Museum of Fine Arts, Chadigarh, India.
2005 ‘3 in1’, OR Gallery, - Malmö, Sweden.
2003 The Gallery, Bristol, England (The Edward Wilmot Blyden Project). ‘Exo Art’, Art Hall, Porvo, Finland.
2001 ‘Outside of Inside’, Vienna, Austria. Dialogue, St. Petersburg, Russia.
2000 ‘Autumn Saloon’, Palace, Krakov, Poland. ’Participation’, Helsinki, Finland.
1997 Survey show organised by Institute of International Visual Arts, London held at the Pitshanger Manor Museum.
1995 Freedom Exhibition for Amnesty International at Glasgow Museum, Baths Gallery Belfast, City Gallery Southampton
1991 Participated in 'the South of the World' show at Galleria Civica d'arte Contemporanea, Marsala, Sicily.
1989 Participated in 'the Other Story' at the Hayward Gallery, London.
1983 Show at Springe Museum, Springe, Germany.
Public Commissions
1999 Commission for Thorpe Meadow Millennium Youth Hostel, Peterborough (uncompleted)
1998 Commission for Swan Bank, , Coventry. Commission for [Emslie Horniman Pleasance], London Invited to exhibit at Palais de Nations, Geneva September 1999
1997 Developed the master plan for Farm Park, (12 acre inner city Park) Birmingham. (Not materialised)
1996 Commission for , Bradford
1992-96 Lead Sculptor for Maltings Park, a 10-acre (40,000 m2) space for the Cardiff Bay Development Corporation, a conceptual piece of sculpture that will weave through the whole park ; ; .
1992 Installation 'Five Thousand Candles for Justice' at the Parque Ibrapuera for the [Museu de Arte Contemporanea], São Paulo, Brazil.
1991 An environmental sculpture for the city of Chandigarh, India
1989 Public sculpture for Senneley's Park in Birmingham.
1983 '83 Steps' at Margam Park, South Wales.
1987 Invited participant in Intl. competition for Galton Valley, Birmingham. (not materialised)
1986 Public sculpture, 'Dunstall Henge' at Peace Green, Wolverhampton.
1985 Two installations for St. Louis Arts Festival. '15 Floating Flames' at the Grand Basin in the City Park and 'Peace Maker' in Maryland Plaza.
1981 Public Sculpture for Bodicote House, Banbury, Oxon.
Selected bibliography
- Monograph published by the Institute of International Visual Arts, 1997
(Available from [InIVA], London, Cornerhouse, Manchester)
- 'Fire, Water & Stone' by S. Hourahane, [Ryusei Ikebana], Japan p 13-17 Aug.1991.
- 'Worlds meet in Dhanjal's Art' by C. Andrea, The Christian Science Monitor, 7.1.91 p 10.
- 'Acontece' by Alvaro Machado, [Folha de S.Paulo], 6.10.1990 p.f11.
- 'Homeland Foundland' by [S. Hourahane], the London 8/9 1989 p 165-172.
- 'Art in Action' by Bill Lonsdale, Landscape Design London, Oct. 1987 p 24-27.
- 'Peace through Sculpture' by Victor Volland, [St. Louis Post Dispatch] 28.3.1985 p. 16a.
- 'Avtarjeet Dhanjal' by Shelagh Hourahane, Sculpture in a Country Park, 1983, Welsh Sculpture Trust, p 84-87.
- 'Hrastovi Mostovi Pod Gorjanci' by Jelka Sprogar, 7d' Ljublijana Sep. 1982, p 8-10
- 'A Punjabi Sculptor in London' by [Arpana Cour], [Indian Express, India], 11,11,1978 p 5.
- 'Sculptures that Sways in the Breeze' by Asif Khan, Morning Echo New Delhi 3.10.1978.
Media Coverage
- Stories of Art - BBC1, broadcast on 19 September 1993
- Contemporaries - a documentary by Channel 4, broadcast on 5 March 1987
- Open Studio - a 30-minute interview by Harold Fouks on BBC Radio Shropshire
References
- ↑ http://www.tribuneindia.com/2001/20010217/region.htm Retrieved, 28 January 2010
- ↑ http://chdmuseum.nic.in/