Progressive Artists’ Group – Sadanand Bakre

Sadanand Bakre was one of the painters from the Progressive Artists’ Group. He was the only sculptor in the group.  Sadanand was born in Baroda in 1920 and he joined the Gokhale Education Society School when his family moved to Bombay.  He started showing some initial talents in drawing and was motivated by his teacher to pursue paintings seriously. At the age of 16, Bakre held his first solo exhibition of drawings of figures, still life, watercolor landscapes, and clay models of drapery at his school.

Sadanand Bakre joined Sir J.J. School of Art in 1939. He studied Sculpture and got the train in Academic realistic style.  It was 1944 when he was awarded Lord Harding Scholarship and a Diploma in Sculpture. He was known to be an innovative artist with out-of-the-box innovative techniques.  His quest for innovation leads him to experiments with newer methods, materials, and forms of expression.

Career and Progressive Artists’ Group

Bakre was one of the founding members of Progressive Artists’ Group and he was the only sculptor in the group. His presence in the group was dynamic and it provided the shape which was needed for the group after India’s independence.

In 1951, he went to England and in curiosity, he started paintings which lead to the abandoning of sculptures.  In England, he was further encouraged and honed by the leading art critic Rudy Von Leyden, who introduced him to the modernist movements in Europe and America.

He had a one-man exhibition at the Commonwealth Institute (1951), another at Gallery One (1959), and four at the Nicholas Treadwell Gallery (1969–1975).

With growing interest in the structure of paintings, his style underwent an evolution from spiky forms to more simplified forms. He was using many types of materials and his works were small in nature but they are very expressive to the core.

He returned to India in 1975, after spending considerable time in Europe. In India, he led a secluded life. In 2004, he was awarded Lifetime Achievement Award from the Bombay Art Society.

Sadanand Bakre passed of a heart attack in 2007.

Selected Posthumous Exhibitions

1. 2016 ‘Indian Modernist Landscapes, 1950-1970, Bakre / Ribeiro / Souza’, Grosvenor Gallery, London

• 2012 ‘Crossings: Time Unfolded, Part 2’, Kiran Nadar Museum of Art (KNMA), New Delhi

• 2011 ‘Ethos V: Indian Art Through the Lens of History (1900 to 1980), Indigo Blue Art, Singapore

• 2011 ‘Continuum’, Delhi Art Gallery, New Delhi

• 2010 ‘The Progressives & Associates’, Grosvenor Gallery, London

• 2010 ‘Manifestations IV’, Delhi Art Gallery, New Delhi

Selected Solo Exhibitions

1. 1997 ‘Paintings and Sculptures’, Son-Et-Lumiere Art Gallery, Mumbai

• 1969-71 ‘Paintings, Drawings and Sculptures’, Nicholas Treadwell Gallery, London

• 1969 Fiddes Watt Gallery, London

• 1969 ‘Paintings’, Nicholas Treadwell Gallery, London

• 1966 Burton Gallery, Burton, UK

• 1966 Pundole Art Gallery, Mumbai

• 1965 Gallery Chemould, Mumbai

• 1965 Taj Art Gallery, Mumbai

• 1964 Gallery Private Bale, Switzerland

1. 1964 Art Gallery of Mr. Roth, Detroit, USA

1. 1962 Centaur Gallery, London

1. 1961 ‘Sculptures and Paintings’, Commonwealth Institute Art Gallery, London

1. 1959 Gallery One, London

1. 1958 Woodstock Gallery, London

1. 1951 ‘Sculptures and Drawings’, Bombay Art Society, Mumbai

1. 1936 Gokhale Education Society, Mumbai

Selected Group Exhibitions

1. 2002 Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai

• 1996 ‘Distillations’, Birla Academy of art and Culture, Mumbai

• 1996 ‘The Moderns’, Inaugural Show at National Gallery of Modern art (NGMA), Mumbai

• 1963 O’ Hana Gallery, Mixed Christmas Exhibition, London

• 1961 Grand Palais de Champs, Elysees, Le Salon, Paris

• 1960 Bear Lane Gallery, Oxford, London

• 1953 ‘Bakre, Husain, Souza’, Galerie Palette, Zurich

• 1949 Progressive Artist’ Group, Bombay Art Society, Mumbai

Participations

1. 2005 ‘Manifestations III’, organized by Delhi Art Gallery, New Delhi at Nehru Centre, Mumbai; Rabindra Bhavan, New Delhi

• 2004 ‘Manifestations II’, organized by Delhi Art Gallery, New Delhi at Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai; Delhi Art Gallery, New Delhi

• 2003 ‘Manifestations’, organized by Delhi Art Gallery, New Delhi at World Trade Centre, Mumbai; Delhi Art Gallery, New Delhi

• 1964 Plattsburg International Art Festival, Plattsburg, USA

• 1961 1st International Exhibition of Fine Art, Saigon, Vietnam

Honours and Awards

1. 1950 Certificate in Sculpture, Bombay Art Society, Mumbai

• 1950 Best Sculpture, President Cowasji Jehangir Prize, Bombay Art Society, Mumbai

• 1949 Best Sculpture, His Highness The Princess of Berar Cash Prize, Hyderabad Art Society, Hyderabad

• 1949 Silver Medal, Hyderabad Art Society, Hyderabad

• 1949 First Cash Prize, Best Portrait, Hyderabad Art Society, Hyderabad

• 1948 Best Work in Oil Painting, Late Rustom Sodio Memorial Cash Prize, Bombay Art Society, Mumbai

• 1948 Best Work in Sculpture, Silver Medal, Bombay Art Society, Mumbai

• 1948 President Sir Cowasji Jehangir Cash Prize in Sculpture, Bombay Art Society, Mumbai

• 1947 Cash Prize, Bombay Art Society, Mumbai

1. 1944 Professor O.V.Mulller Memorial Cash Prize, Bombay Art Society, Mumbai

1. 1943 Lord Harding’s Scholarship

1. 1943 Lord Mayo Gold Medal, Sir J.J School of Art, Mumbai

1. 1942 His Highness .The Raja Saheb of Bhore’s Cash Prize in Sculpture, Bombay Art Society, Mumbai

1. 1942 His Highness The Maharaja of Bhavnagar’s Cash Prize in Sculpyure, Bombay Art Society, Mumbai

1. 1942 Bronze Medal in Sculpture, Kolhapur Art Society, Kolhapur

1. 1941 Sir Cowasji Jehangir First Prize in Sculpture, Bombay Art Society, Mumbai

1. 1940 Certificate in Sculpture, Bombay Art Society, Mumbai

1. 1940 Two Scholarships, Sir J.J School of Art, Mumbai

1. 1939 His Highness The Maharaja of Bhavnagar’s Cash Prize in Sculpture, Bombay Art Society, Mumbai

Refrence: https://www.dhoomimalgallery.com/artist_info.php?id=MTg3