Born to Goan parents in Nagpur, he never lived in Goa, unlike
the other Goan artists who were at some stage of their lives
in Goa.
A contemporary of FN Souza, Gaitonde studied at JJ School of
Art and sympathized with the Progressive Artist Group.
However, he remained on the fringes of the movement. He was
evidently searching his own way. A social transition was
imminent at that time; artists were searching their wayout of
the thick layers of dust of the colonial academician.
Born to Goan parents in Nagpur, he never lived in Goa, unlike
the other Goan artists who were at some stage of their lives
in Goa.
A contemporary of FN Souza, Gaitonde studied at JJ School of
Art and sympathized with the Progressive Artist Group.
However, he remained on the fringes of the movement. He was
evidently searching his own way. A social transition was
imminent at that time; artists were searching their wayout of
the thick layers of dust of the colonial academician.
Some did it the radical way, others preferred by inventing
new indigenous sets and patterns of a new language. Gaitonde
chose the road towards abstraction in a manner no one else
has. Single-minded, a quite Zen-like character in deep
thought, he seeks after the ultimate thruths. He does not
even call his work 'abstract' but refers to it as
'non-bjective', implying a metaphoric language like you find
in the Koans of Zen Buddhism.
Gaitonde is generally accepted as India's foremost abstract
painter, recipient of the 'Padmashree', the 'Kalidasa Samman'
and 'J.D.Rockerfeller Fellowship Award', he has invluenced
diverse schools of abstraction, like Kolte, Laxman Shrestra
and others.
Gaitonde was particularly close to another important Goan
painter, Prafulla Dahanukar. They even shared a studio.
Dahanukar is quite the oppposite character — a dominant
appearance with a commanding voice and intelligent sparkling
eyes. She translates the remote intellectual Koanic Zen
language onto her canvasses, while Gaitonde's approach,
though meditative, is heavier and more 'present in the real
world'.
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