Growing up in Bhavnagar during the 1940s, Jyoti Bhatt developed a fascination with birds. “As I tried to describe them to friends, I found language insufficient; instead, I turned instinctively to drawing. Observing the curve of a beak or the spread of a tail, I began to sketch what words could not capture,” he says. Recognising this interest, his teacher encouraged him to join a special art class, setting him on the path towards a life in art.
The now 91-year-old Baroda-based artist dons many hats—painter, printmaker and photographer. And at his latest retrospective titled Through the Lines and the Lens, the oeuvre spanning his seven decades of creativity is there for one to see. Presented by Bhavna Kakar and curated by Rekha Roddwittiya, the exhibition features a rich array of etchings, lithographs, serigraphs, photographs, and personal writings. “He belongs to the pantheon of artists who have truly contributed to a historical premise of contemporary Indian art, and who have defined certain early premises, and created areas where theoretical discourses could also be framed from their art practice,” says Roddwittiya.
After studying painting and printmaking at MS University in Baroda, Bhatt became the recipient of a scholarship to further his studies at Accademia di Belle Arti in Naples, Italy, and the Pratt Institute in New York, US, in the 60s, where he was exposed to abstract expressionism. His early works, reflecting the cubist style, later shifted to pop art imagery, to finally arrive at a style inspired by traditional folk imagery.
Recalling how printmaking came into his life, Bhatt says, “I still remember the moment I first encountered Krishna Reddy’s work—his intaglio prints were unlike anything I had seen, rich with detail and layered meaning. It was during the 50s, that I came across those prints which he made in Paris using application of inks with different viscosity.” It was while studying at the Pratt Institute between 1964 and 1966, that he truly grasped the power of the technique. “I was captivated not only by its technical complexity but also by its democratic spirit—the ability to produce multiples made art more accessible, allowing it to reach wider audiences. Pulling an image from a matrix felt like magic—each impression a new voice, yet rooted in the same source. It became my language for storytelling,” he adds.
Some prints that hold a special place in his heart include the etching titled Last Journey—“it was my first etching, and it reminds me of my present existence”—Lost Pandit, for the confidence it gave him, and the 1965 print Remains of the Old Bungalow, continues to inspire him to revisit his old sketches and doodles stored in past sketchbooks and notebooks. There are two other images that he holds dear—On the Road Alone and A Face. Both were created using a camera and photographic techniques. “In them, I’ve consciously tried to see photography as a form of ‘graphic print’, akin to the ones commonly practiced in traditional printmaking,” he shares.
His journey with photography began as a way to document his own work and that of fellow artists. From the late 1960s, Bhatt’s lens started turning towards the rich, living traditions of rural and tribal India as a way of preserving moments and traditions that were disappearing. “I wanted to document what I saw in an honest act of observation. Now when I look at those images, they take me back in time and to those moments of deep connection and understanding,” he adds.
The veteran artist admits that his works often feed into each other in unexpected ways. “My photographs sometimes become references for my prints, while certain prints inspire photographic ideas. I’ve even printed photographs in ways that mimic graphic prints, or hand-painted directly onto them. Collaging, too, has been a way to blend mediums, weaving photography into my paintings. Over time, this movement between forms has become a way of learning, of staying open. Much of what I create surfaces intuitively—memories, observations, and experiences that shape my work without me even realising it at the moment,” he says. At 91, Bhatt’s world revolves around continuous, evolving conversations between mediums and ideas that overlap, intertwine, and enrich one another.