Anand Narayan Dabli

Nagpur is home to abstract artist Anand N. Dabli. From Nagpur School of Art, he obtained a Government Diploma in fine arts. The Indian government’s Ministry of Culture has twice given him a fellowship. Recently, he held a solo exhibition at Bharat Bhawan, Bhopal’s Rangdarshan Gallery. Anand N. Dabli works with the abstraction found in the natural world. His inspiration for his artworks has always been nature; thus, he aims to depict the dualities that are either unseen or unheard in nature. Paint is freely smeared, sprayed, or dribbled over the canvas in his abstract approach, resulting in paintings full of colours, forms, and textures that he has seen in his surroundings and that all have derived meanings and importance. The physical act itself becomes just as important as the artwork itself. Although Dabli’s artwork sometimes has the appearance of an action painting Dabli uses a different approach to his work; he sketches his topics before painting them. His creations provide witness to his close bond with the natural world and his surroundings. As he discussed his efforts,

“Art has become a daily ritual for me; I feel uncomfortable not painting, even for a day,” Dabli states. Every time I paint, I lose myself in nature and experience a sense of unfinished business. I have looked for the cause of this feeling but have not been able to. I’m starting to see that painting in a remote location could be the cause of my unfulfilled sensation.