G. R. Santosh

1929

Is born in old Srinagar, Kashmir, in a Shia Muslim family; his name is Gulam Rasool Dar.

1947-53

To survive through the financially harrowing years, he takes up a miscellany of jobs like painting watercolour landscapes for tourists, weaving, and fashioning papier-mâché works to support his family. His artistic practice is influenced by the artist Dina Nath Walli.

1950

Joins Progressive Artists Association in Kashmir, owing to eminent painter S. H. Raza’s endeavours to mobilise Kashmiri painters.

Paints expressionist landscapes bringing the everyday life of Kashmir valley into focus. Kashmir remains a key inspiration for the artist throughout his life as he seeks his artistic idiom in his traditional roots and culture.

1953

First solo exhibition in Srinagar, Kashmir.

1954-56

Receives a government scholarship to study at Faculty of Fine Arts in Baroda under N. S. Bendre as a noncollegiate student. These years are marked by figurative paintings executed in a cubist style.

1956

Participates in the National Art Exhibition with expressionistic landscapes. Returns to Kashmir and continues to paint in the cubist vein till 1959. Gold medal at Industrial Exhibition, J&K Government, Srinagar. Wins Bombay Art Society’s President Sir Cowasji Jehangir Bart prize.

1957

First exhibition in Bombay. Receives his first national award from Lalit Kala Akademi, a feat he would repeat in 1964 and 1973.

1959

Wins first prize at Kalidasa Jayanti Exhibition, Ujjain.

1960s

Paints abstract works.

1960

Marries a Kashmiri Pandit girl, stirring up a controversy in the valley. Takes her first name, Santosh, as his surname, and relocates to New Delhi. Wins the state award from the J&K Academy of Arts & Culture, Srinagar.

1961

Is part of Paris Biennale, France; also, exhibits at National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa.

1962

Has exhibitions at well-known galleries in New York, Kabul, Tel Aviv, Los Angeles, Chicago, and New Delhi.

1963

Finishes composing his Urdu novel, Samandar Pyasa Hai. Additionally, his participation in the National Poetic Symposium establishes his identity as a major poet of Kashmiri language.

1964

A mystic epiphany on a pilgrimage to Amarnath in Kashmir proves a turning point and becomes the catalyst that steers his practice towards a philosophical approach to art. He begins his study of Shaivite philosophy—the Kashmiri approach to the worship of Shiva. Exhibits at Gallery Revel, New York. In 1963-64, the artist’s works are extensively exhibited in U.S.A., Hong Kong, Manila, and Singapore.

1965

Art critic Keshav Malik praises the ‘distinct improvement’ in Santosh’s work on exhibit at Kumar Gallery, New Delhi.

1966

Holds his last exhibition of works as a ‘modernist’ before the transition to tantra. Ajit Mookerjee’s book Tantra Art is released and is a publishing sensation worldwide. Santosh paints his early tantra works and the Shiva-Shakti series.

1966-68

The artist’s exploration of tantric art shows abstracted bodies in copulation.

1967

Dr Karan Singh, India’s minister of tourism and civil aviation at the time, inaugurates his exhibition at Kunika Chemould Art Centre, New Delhi.

1968

Participates in U.C.L.A.’s exhibition ‘Neo-Tantra Art’ in Los Angeles.

1968,'78,'82

Participates in the I, IV and V International Triennales organised by Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi

1969

Pundole Art Gallery, Bombay, exhibits his works.

1972

Is part of Sao Paulo Biennale, Brazil.

1977

Receives the Padma Shri from Government of India. Designs the Lalit Kala Gallery in New Delhi.

1979

The artist’s poetry collection, Besukh Ruh, wins the Sahitya Akademi award.

1980

Publishes Shakti Vichaar and Vakh in Kashmiri. Is director of Garhi Studios, Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi. Paints in the miniature format and exhibits them at Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi. Is part of Lalit Kala Akademi’s exhibitions in Dubai and Japan. Keshav Malik, who had not reconciled to Santosh’s transition to neotantra art, writes an excoriating review: ‘His composition is cast by a calculating brain too impersonal both in its formal geometry and colour’, the latter proving to be ‘loud, louder, loudest’. A media slugfest follows, and though Malik’s later reviews are kinder, the two fail to patch up and become friends.

1982

As part of Festival of India, participates in ‘Contemporary Indian Art’, London.

1983

‘Santosh’ opens at Gallery Tai In in Seoul, South Korea; his ‘Tantra’ exhibition is shown in Stuttgart, Germany, and South Korea.

1984

Sahitya Kala Parishad honours him as ‘Artist of the Year’. Is awarded by All India Fine Arts and Crafts Society, New Delhi.

1985

Receives the Kalhana Award from the Kashmir Education and Science Society, New Delhi, and the Bakshi Memorial Committee Award (J&K State) for Art and Culture. His works are shown as part of Festival of India in Los Angeles.

1988

His works are part of Festival of India in Japan. He participates in the second National Biennale at Bharat Bhavan, Bhopal.

1989

Exhibits at Jehangir Art Gallery, Bombay.

1991

Receives Kala Ratna from All India Fine Arts and Crafts Society, New Delhi.

1992

Has an exhibition at Jehangir Art Gallery, Bombay, and at Dhoomimal Gallery, New Delhi.

1997

Dies on March 10. Is awarded D.Litt. posthumously by the University of Jammu. Government of Jammu and Kashmir felicitates his ‘extraordinary contribution in the field of art and literature’ posthumously.

2000

Shantiveer Kaul’s book, The Art of G. R. Santosh, is published by Lustre Press.

2011

A major exhibition, ‘Awakening: A Retrospective of G. R. Santosh’ opens at DAG, New Delhi. It is accompanied by a book.