An artist who operates at the crossroads where rural life meets urban visions

Only an artist can truly understand the actual meaning of “being rooted” and “being rootless”, both at the same time. Madhvi Parekh is no exception in this regard. Her roots in Sanjaya village, Gujarat, led her to create remarkable works about that place’s heritage while she stayed in different cities across the country.  Reminiscing about her time in the rural setting brings a smile to her lips. “That time was so wonderful. The picturesque village, the spirit of togetherness, the festivals, I clearly remember all of those…,” says Madhvi.

The setting of her village gave her the images of birds and beasts that we see in her art, images derived as much from the real world as from the imagination. The figures in her work appear rejoicing in happy camaraderie. There is no conflict between men and animals, and the deity is also a friend.

She often thinks about her village. Sitting on the swing suspended in her studio, where she reads and works, she lets memory be her guide. “I like to move back and forth on this swing with my feet dangling in air. It reminds me of my childhood,” says Madhvi, enjoying the sway. “In my village,” she resumes, “I liked sunsets the most. The clear, reddish, rays of sun filtered through huge trees were pleasing to my eyes. That’s why natural bodies like the sun and the moon recur in my works.”  

Her village, she recalls, was quite like a museum. “There were huge murals drawn in the temples describing the stories of Ramayana and Mahabharata. I sometimes practiced embroidery and many a time I would make a rangoli in our house with my sisters and other women folk in the village,” says Madhvi.

The other lasting influence on Madhvi’s work, apart from her past, has been her husband, artist Manu Parekh, who was trained at the J.J. School of Art, and who introduced her to Paul Klee’s paintings.  “Having this urge to think positive thoughts during my first pregnancy, I wanted to do engage myself in some creative work. I had heard that if you think well, it will have a positive effect on your child. And looking at him [Manu Parekh], I also wanted to continue that,” says Madhvi.

Madhvi was given Klee’s The Pedagogical Sketchbook, on the basics of visual arts, theory and practice, for students. “She practiced using the book only for a couple of days and got bored with it soon,” says Manu Parekh. “Instead, she did something wonderful.” Madhvi had added legs to the squares, drew a face inside a circle and used dots to make a new style. Her imagination had taken off. “I would say that Madhvi is trained in technique and used her own creativity. I helped only in a way that I didn’t add my vision to hers. She was on her own. If I had interfered or ‘guided’ in any way then it would have been a clear injustice to her art.”

Madhvi’s paintings suggest childlike enthusiasm and a sense of happiness. Her figures, in earthy hues, appear innocent and joyous. “I always think positive,” says Madhvi. “My father, B.R. Master, taught us positivity, so whenever I am unhappy I try to change my mood. I even teach everyone to remain in a joyous state of mind. In my years growing up, my siblings and I were never allowed to sit idle. We were always running errands for the most part of the day.”

But Madhvi, just like other artists, has her moments of struggle. “I almost arrive on the verge of crying when my I am stuck somewhere in the process of completing an artwork, but that doesn’t deter me. I don’t ever doubt myself. I carry on after a break.”

Daughter to a Gandhian father, Madhvi has always believed in the philosophy of doing good, being good. “I am inclined towards Gandhiji’s philosophy because of my father. I also have a deep interest in religious teachings. Every religious book teaches the same principles to lead a good life. It doesn’t matter if it is the Ramayana or the Bible.” 

After looking at Leonardo Da Vinci’s The Last Supper on the walls of Santa Maria Delle Grazia, Madhvi created her own best-known work, a new interpretation of Da Vinci’s masterpiece, done in reverse glass painting style.  Naveen Kishore, Publisher Seagull Books decided to exhibit Madhvi Parekh’s The Last Supper paintings in churches across the country. He says, “It struck me that this body of work needed to move beyond the traditional white cube of the gallery space. And since the theme lent itself to churches that is where we began to show The Last Supper with great success! Churches have since olden times been places for art. Lovely to see entire congregations enjoying paintings they wouldn’t normally see.” The church as a public space? Why not?!”

Many art critics have compared Madhvi’s works to Klee’s, Joan Miro’s and Jamini Roy’s. Kishore Singh, Curator, Delhi Art Gallery, says, “Madhvi Parekh is critical to our understanding of twentieth century Indian art and its development, in which the folk-like has largely been ignored. In that space, she inherits the mantle previously occupied by Jamini Roy. Her sensibility suggests a crossroads where the urban and the rural meet without a sense of conflict.”

Just like Miro, Madhvi is interested in nature as a source for art. She says, “A few years back, we went to Miro Foundation. Looking at the works, I exclaimed, ‘His work is just like mine.’ People around me started laughing and I along with them sheepishly smiled. But I made the comparison and was appalled at the genius of his work.”

In her paintings, she has picked up on instances, expressions and cultures from various places and made those an active part of her vocabulary. From her folk-tradition roots, Madhvi branched out to create her own unique style, separate from conventions. This exhibition, a new retrospective of Madhvi’s work titled Madhvi Parekh-A curious Seeker, meticulously takes the viewer, step by step, through her five-decade career as an artist. The works included here represent every phase of her career.