From Picasso To Philip Guston: Books On Art

From tracing four volumes of Picasso to following works of a pioneer in abstract expressionism, here’s a list of books that inspired these artists to find their individual styles.

Atul Dodiya

Trained in both Mumbai and Paris, Atul Dodiya became known in the ‘90s for hyperrealist paintings depicting middle-class Indian life and for his watercolors and oil series on Mahatma Gandhi.

He has had more than 32 solo shows in India and abroad, which includes a mid-career retrospective at Japan Foundation Asia Centre, Tokyo in 2001, a solo show in Reina Sofia Museum, Madrid in 2002, Contemporary Arts Centre.

1. Night Studio: A Memoir Of Philip Guston, By Musa Mayer

Philip Guston was an American painter. This book holds special significance for me because it is one of the first books that I read in Paris, where I was studying art on a scholarship.

Guston was one of the pioneers of abstract expressionism. However, later on, he changed his style and did something completely different. It was a painful journey for him and this courage and risk he took is what inspired me.

Once an artist is recognised for a style, he is bound to follow that. Guston allowed himself to do something that was completely different., and produced a very strange body of work. This taught me that I should not be afraid of things I want to do.

2. Four Volumes On Pablo Picasso, By Josep Palau i Fabre

Picasso is one of my favourite artists because he experimented with so many different styles.

3. An Allegory Of Painting, 1955-1965 By Jasper Johns

This book talks on the process and history of painting. How one pushes the art of painting, and how it can change one’s way of thinking. It questions the process of how art works should be conceived.

Akbar Padamsee

Akbar Padamsee is a recipient of the Padma Bhushan. Throughout his career spanning six decades, he has remained fiercely experimental and individualistic. Since the seventies, his work is seen to alternate between two major genres, luminous metascapes, his signature works, and the human figure which he continues to imbue with an arresting presence.

1. A Lover’s Discourse, By Roland Barthe

This book talks of a list of fragments from literature and philosophy. It is a great read because it is beautifully written and very moving.

2. S/Z, An Essay, By Roland Barthe

This is a literary analysis of Balzac’s short story Sarrasine.

3. The Notebooks Of Paul Klee, Volume 1, The Thinking Eye, By Paul Klee

This is a collection of essays and lectures on modern art. These are considered among the most important essays on modern art.

Paresh Maity

Paresh Maity, a painter and sculptor, is a recipient of the Padma Shri (2014). He has had 71 solo exhibitions to his credit held all over the world including, India, Hong Kong, Singapore, Germany, France, United Kingdom and United States of America. He is the recipient of the Royal Watercolor Society Award in London, among other awards. His works are in the collection at British Museum in London, Rubin Museum, New York, Commonwealth Institute, London, the National Gallery of Modern Art in New Delhi, the Vaitcan Embassy, among other places.

1. Lust For Life, By Irving Stone

This book is based on the life of the famous Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh and the kind of hardships he suffered.

2. Agony And Ecstacy, By Irving Stone

This book talks of the story of Michelangelo, one of the greatest artists the world has seen.