QUEEN’S ROAD: Mahirwan Mamtani began to paint as a child mainly with charcoal and chalks on walls. At the age of 12, due to the Partition of India, the family moved to Delhi. To cope with miserable living conditions as a refugee, he would doodle with pencil or pastels on paper.
However, circumstances forced Mamtani to earn money via several jobs and his urge to paint was suppressed due to lack of time and money. After some years of such conditions, Mamtani started studying for Bachelor of Arts and then joined evening classes at the Fine Arts Department of Delhi Polytechnic to study painting.
He obtained the National Diploma in 1962. In 1966 he was awarded a scholarship by German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) to study painting at the Academy of Fine Arts Munich.
Heavily influenced by Kandinsky, one of the groundbreakers of modernism, constructivism, and by Tantra art, the artist created a Centrovision series, which by 1990, already consisted of more than 3,000 works.
The inspiration for Mahirwan Mamtani’s Centrovision is derived from the mandala concept, ideals of Shakti and metaphysical concepts, the supreme cosmic energy.
Mamtani is going to talk about his spiritual and artistic journey titled ‘50 Years of Paintings 1962-2012’ at NGMA Gallery at 6 pm on Friday.
Entry for the event is free to all on first come first serve basis.