Himmat Shah

Acquired from Planet Saffron Inc., Mumbai, 2007

Himmat Shah first trained in drawing at the J.J. School of Art in Mumbai and later at the Faculty of Fine Arts of M.S. University, Baroda, before receiving a French Government scholarship in 1967 to study printmaking at the renowned Atelier 17 in Paris. During his time at St. Xavier’s School, Ahmedabad, he discovered his affinity for large-scale sculpture and developed a new sensitivity to surface and texture. As a founding member of Group 1890, a short-lived but influential collective that sought new directions for Indian modernism, Shah stood firmly for innovation. In the decades that followed, he remained an independent and inventive voice, moving fluidly between drawing, printmaking and sculpture.

Shah's celebrated ‘Head’ series emerged following his return to India in the mid-1970s. These sculptures are distinguished by their elongated forms and abstracted features, transcending individual likeness to achieve a nearly totemic presence. Crafted in terracotta, bronze and marble, Shah's heads combine tactile richness with a raw, expressive energy that evokes the influence of modernist masters such as Constantin Brancusi and Jacob Epstein. Simultaneously, they draw inspiration from the rudimentary elegance of temple icons and tribal artifacts, positioning the series as a cornerstone of Shah’s unique artistic legacy.

The Kiss carries this inquiry into the realm of intimacy by distilling the essence of human connection into its most elemental expression. Two profiles, cast in bold, monumental outlines, converge in a moment of tender union. The textured surface reveals the artist’s fascination with materiality, while his playful handling of contour lends the work a primal resonance. On one side, both figures appear with eyes open, embodying a conscious and mutual closeness. On the reverse, however, the subtle suggestion of a lowered eyelid in the long-haired figure introduces a shift in tone, evoking a quiet surrender to passion. This duality breathes life into The Kiss, affirming Shah’s mastery of his medium and drawing the viewer to move around it and discover its emotional layers.

'If one stands back to take a telescopic view of his sculpture, it would probably fall in the areas of enigma, domesticity and sheer whim. Himmat turns conventional scale into mockery and allows for sheer play to dominate his vision, wherein architectural structures are dwarfed and heads enlarged to an enigmatic monumentality. Himmat Shah's work does not appear to judge the human condition. Instead, it appears to present its existential state, through terms that defy simple definition.' (G. Sinha, An Unreasoned Act of Being: Sculptures by Himmat Shah, Mapin Publishing Pvt. Ltd., Ahmedabad, 2007, overleaf)