It’s not everyday that visitors from the US, Australia and Europe buy Indian art and take it home. Last week Jehangir Art Gallery witnessed this phenomenon for artworks by celebrated artist Madhushree Muchhal. There was a good reason why. Her paintings bring spiritual and Divine energies to a materialistic and visual representation which take the viewer to a higher spiritual plane.
As a popular gallerist from Mumbai described, “Lovely! Divine paintings! Feeling so blessed with positive energy. I stood there for 10 mins looking at this painting, I couldn’t move, I didn’t want to hear anything else. Madhu has the power, we are getting holistic healing with this. Beautiful energy and Divine presence.”
Madhushree Muchhal has worked with a variety of mediums and art forms. Originally from Kolkata, India and presently residing in Indore, she has had more than 15 solo and 45 group shows in countries around the world, including some of the most well known galleries in India. Her recent solo show in Silicon Valley in California, USA in April 2023 was highly appreciated by Americans and Indians living there including art curators and art collectors. She successfully completed a Solo show at the prestigious Jehangir Art gallery this Monday. She also has won the prestigious Stri Shakti Award, AIFACS Award and All India Lokmanya Tilak Award.
She has a keen eye for composition. The famous artist S.H. Raza, after seeing her works at the Nehru Center, wrote ‘Excellent work, rich in color and composition.’ She began creating art at a young age winning prizes for art at school and letting her passion guide the journey. She wanted to pursue art at the prestigious Government college of art and craft, Kolkata and although she cleared the entrance exam, she was not allowed to pursue her passion. So instead she went ahead and completed a B.A (Hons) in Education from Loretto College. However, her passion continued and she never stopped painting. After she married into a large, reputed joint family in Indore, she faced a lot of challenges while pursuing art. Despite many hindrances early on, she kept secretly pursuing it as a hobby – often painting at night into wee hours of the morning. The turning point came when the famous M.F. Hussain
on his visit to Indore, saw Madhushree’s miniatures on silk and complimented her. But at the same time, he advised her to open her hands and do bigger works.
After a few years, when her children grew up, she went on to pursue art professionally. The first show was in 2003 at the Academy of Fine Arts in Kolkata which was a great success. The journey began and in 2006 at a solo show at Nehru Center, S.H Raza visited and liked what he saw. Madhushree’s success is because of her determination, focus, perseverance and passion for art and also the whole hearted support from her immediate family – her father, her mother-in-law, her husband Virendra, her son and her daughter, who started supporting her passion. Her son, Anurag, has been the best critic for her works and keeps her motivated.
By Priyanka Toshniwal
