Shanti Panchal was born in Gujarat in 1951. He studied JJ School of Art, Mumbai and Byam Shaw School of Art, London. He has earned a unique reputation due to the water colour paintings he specializes in. Their message of the paintings lies not on the surface neither in a quick reading of their figure compositions and firmly drawn figures and suspended narrative, but in the spaces between the figures, and in the intensity and depth of the colours used.
He had worked initially in oils and acrylics. He had also studied the European watercolour tradition. He was very well aware of the dense colour palette that could be achieved with water-based colours. His unique use of watercolours brings dimensions of western and eastern tradition together in a new manner. The ideas behind his paintings link the several worlds of his experience.
Shanti Panchal is one of the best figurative painters in the country. He has won the BP Portrait Award at the National Portrait Gallery in 1991. His images depict more than one figure in a kind of meeting. His style of painting ensures that any emotion remains elusive. He does not use watercolour in the traditional English way. He uses a hard hand made paper and outlines the design in pencil. Panchal is excellent in conveying singular beauty of shapes. Panchal through a systematic understanding of placement and interval makes rare paintings with great eloquence.
The awards received by Shanti Panchal:
1974 - Bombay Art Society, Mumbai
1976 - Maharashtra State Art Exhibition, Bombay
1983 - Chris Beetles Award, RSW Bankside Gallery, London
1984 - First Prize - Royal Overseas League, London
1987 - John Moores Liverpool Exhibition 15, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool
1989 - First Prize - London Paperworks, Square Gallery, London
1990 - South Bank Picture Show, Royal Festival Hall, London
1991 - BP Portrait Award, National Portrait Gallery, London
South Bank Picture Show, Royal Festival Hall, London
1999 - First Prize, Chichester Open Art Exhibition, Edes House, Chichester
2000 - The Year of the Artists Award, London Arts, London
2001 - First Prize, the Singer & Friedlander/ Sunday Times watercolour competition, London
Some of his exhibitions include:
One Person Exhibitions:
1978 - Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai
1980 - Arts 38 Gallery, London
1983 - October Gallery, London
2002 - Herbert Art Gallery and Museum, Coventry
2003 - Berni Gallery, Jersey Art Centre, Jersey, Channel Islands
Selected Group Exhibitions:
1980 - Grand Prix International D`Art Contemporain, Monte Carlo, Monaco
1982 - Between Two Worlds, Barbican Gallery, London.
Gallerie Nina Dausset, Paris
2003 - Shantipath, Tao Art Gallery, Worli, Mumbai, India.
2004 - Anticipations, Fine Art Resource, Jehangir Art Gallery and the Museum Gallery, Mumbai, India.
2008 - Ananya, an overview of contemporary art, Visual Arts Gallery and Habitat Centre, New Delhi, India
