Pradeep Mishra

Pradeep Mishra

Those who have followed the works of Pradeep Mishra closely would recognize one thing with a smile; this artist does not paint grown up human beings. His images are either animals or birds or plants or infants (of human and animal origin). Deep and dark red like the twilight sky creates the background for most of his paintings. From there, infants, animals (mostly the beasts of burden) look out at the onlooker. There is a flash of complaint, challenge and defiance in those eyes, yet they submit to the hegemonic will. In their pure submission, they challenge the players of a homocentric world. They teach you the humble lessons of ‘Gandhigiri’.

Pradeep Mishra’s art comes from his deep understanding of ecological and environmental concerns, which explains why he selects images from the world of flora and fauna. He once recounted the days of the Mumbai deluge in 2005. Water rushed into the habitats and the human beings escaped leaving their animals harnessed in their pens. Pradeep believes that it was out of selfishness. The people wanted to come back and take charge of their animals once the deluge was over. But all the animals perished in the flood water. “I used to paint a lot of cows, buffaloes, calves etc. But this incident added an edge to my thinking,” says Pradeep.

Oil on canvas is the favorite medium of Pradeep. However, his participation in the recently concluded show titled ‘Paper Flute’ (Oct-Nov 2006) in New Delhi has given him a new medium; paper. His paper works have become now collectors’ items. In the paper works too, Pradeep follows the same philosophy. His images are plants and birds and he depicts them quite minimally. He uses charcoal, watercolour and pastel to build his images on paper.

Born in Maharashtra in 1977, Pradeep Mishra got his BFA and MFA from Sir J.J.School of Art, Mumbai. In 2004, immediately after his college education, Pradeep was invited to participate in a Residency Program at Khoj, New Delhi. Since then he has been expressing his concerns in various mediums including process art and installations. He has participated in various important group shows. Pradeep Mishra lives and works in Mumbai.