There is such joy in the art of Shahid Parvez. His visual style is vibrant and spirited, and resembles the uninhibited, raw scribbles of a child drawing in a scrapbook, capturing the world with a sense of wonder and spontaneity.

The Udaipur-based artist and educator is inspired heavily by the tribal and folk arts of Rajasthan. And his work includes painting, printing and sculpture. I had the privilege of sharing space with him on my first exhibition, Myths and Memories, at Delhi’s Dhoomimal Art Centre last month. At first glance, his work seems starkly different from mine. I soon realised that our core ideas emerge from the same place.

Parvez creates scenes and memories that feel immediately familiar to those raised in India. The subjects aren’t overly complex or abstract. One work, which currently hangs at London’s popular Indian restaurant Masala Zone, features a turbaned Rajasthani man presiding over an elaborate meal presumably cooked by his demure wife, who sits beside him. One striking sculpture consists entirely of dinky cars, while its human head wears an N95 mask to protect against vehicular pollution.

He paints romantic themes often. I particularly love Chal Meri Dhanno, which was displayed at the show. It features a beautifully adorned white mare, (the name Dhanno is inspired perhaps by Hema Malini’s steed from the 1975 film Sholay). She’s all decked out, ready to carry a North Indian groom to his bride at their wedding. Parvez’s Dhanno is impeccable in her bejewelled detailing. Yet, the groom seems like he is rejecting the mare and the traditional expectation of an arranged match for his own love, represented by the bike.

The bright red polka-dotted heart on the bike is a subtle yet sweet indication of his bravery and conviction in his own choice. It’s more than cute. There are onlookers in the backdrop, watching the show. And Parvez’s colours are cool, his embellishments detailed. The composition balances playfulness with depth, and innocence with sophistication.

India’s many tribal art forms hold a special attraction for me, particularly Kalighat paintings. I find Parvez’s work rich in similar details, especially that of Rajasthani Phad, Gond and Mandana styles. His forms are unrestrained, full of movement. This is how narratives in art should feel – unbound, expressive and full of life.

And it takes only a few seconds of observation to see that there’s more beneath the light-hearted humour. Parvez’s work comments on tradition, love and the quirks of human emotion.

This kind of simplicity takes honesty and fearlessness. It pushes me to embrace that same freedom in my own practice. It reminds me that art doesn’t always need to be perfect – it only needs to be real, rooted and alive. It embodies what Picasso once famously said: “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to stay an artist once we grow up.” Parvez maintains his childlike wonder even as he layers his work with metaphors and meaning.

His work shares the same whimsical and theatrical presence as the work of Jamini Roy. They both seem to have unlearned academic art structures, painting instead with childlike wonder, creative instinct and spontaneity.

Artist bio: Tanushree Chakraborty’s work is rooted in memory, mythology and the stories of her upbringing in a family of zamindars and the members of the Birhul community who were helpers in her childhood home.

From HT Brunch, May 3, 2025

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