Samir Mondal


Samir Mondal is an Indian watercolour painter. His most amazing contribution to Indian art of modern times is a continual revival of watercolour and one of the country's most talented and successful watercolour artists.

Early life and education

Born in Balti, a small village in North 24 Parganas district, West Bengal, Mondal graduated in fine arts from the Government College of Art & Craft, Kolkata in 1975. Thereafter he went to Germany for higher studies.

Personal life

He married Madhumita in 1980, whom he had met in Kolkata while still in college. After marriage the couple briefly shifted to Bangalore, before settling in Bombay, they have two children, Somak and Sohini. He lives and works in Goregaon West, Mumbai.

Career

Mondal started his solo career in 1980, and after a brief stay in Bangalore, settled in Bombay. Here by 1987, he was illustrating political cartoons in water colour for noted magazine Illustrated Weekly of India.
Over the past four decades he has exhibited in India and abroad. Besides this he has also participated in noted group exhibitions like National Art exhibition of Lalit Kala Akademi, ‘Freedom of Expression’ and ‘Tribute to Mother Teresa’ by RPG Enterprises, 100 Years of Indian Cinema, People for Animals, ‘Art with a Heart’ at National Gallery of Modern Art, Mumbai, ‘Celebrations-97’ at Napa Art Gallery, Nepal, ‘Confluence’ at Art Connoisseur Gallery, London and Gallery Asiana, New York in collaboration with Gallery Sumukha, Bangalore.
For the 2007 Hindi film, Taare Zameen Par, he painted two watercolour paintings which characters Ishaan and Nikumbh, played by Darsheel Safary and Aamir Khan respectively, made during film climax. In March 2012, to mark his 60th birthday, he held an exhibition titled "6x10" of his 60 paintings of flowers, at the Jamaat Art Gallery in Colaba, Mumbai.

Awards