Artist Japani Shyam takes forward a rich legacy in Gond art

Gond artist Japani Shyam on her solo show in Delhi, and why she paints in black and white.

4 min readAug 25, 2019 06:01 AM IST

Japani Shyam, gond artist, japani shyam artist, indian express, indian express sunday eye

The Line of Beauty: While most artists working in the genre were from Patangarh (Madhya Pradesh), the centre for Gond art, Japani grew up in Bhopal.

Bhopal-based artist Japani Shyam was 13 when her father, Jangarh Singh Shyam — Gond art legend — passed away in 2001. She remembers how, as a child, she would often watch him paint folktales and myths that he would narrate as he worked. “He would often tell us stories that he had grown up listening to and we would be completely mesmerised,” says Japani. To encourage her to draw, he would often give her a blank paper and ask her to sketch what she liked. “Observing him paint was a lesson and the way I approach nature comes from him, but he would always tell us not to copy him and develop our own style,” she says.

When she was 11, he submitted one of her works for the Kamala Devi Award. Not only did she win, she also found buyers for her works when she was in the city to receive the award. “That was very encouraging and it is probably when I thought that I should also pursue art more seriously,” says Japani, 31, as she packs works for her solo at Gallerie Ganesha in Delhi that began last week and is on till September 22. The showcase comprises 15 works, from ochre peacocks flocking under a tree, intricately painted in black and white, to deers prancing in grey leafy fields. “It is important to feel at one with nature. I sketch free hand and the animals might not be an exact replica of the real but belong to a world I imagine,” adds Japani.

Along with her 32-year-old brother Mayank Shyam — and numerous other artists who now follow the style of art that has been termed as the Jangarh Kalam School — Japani is taking forward the legacy of her father who reportedly committed suicide in Japan. “That is also when we realised that we had to reach out to the world like he had with Gond art and familarise others with our traditions,” says Japani. Named after Japan, as her father was in the country when she was born, the artist has exhibited across the world, from New York and Tokyo. Last year, she was awarded the Annual FICCI Young Achievers Award.

One of Japani Shyam’s untitled works

While most artists working in the genre were from Patangarh (Madhya Pradesh), the centre for Gond art, Japani grew up in Bhopal. The difference reflects in her works that more often talk about issues concerning the environment and her urban surroundings. “I do borrow characters from the stories I have heard but rarely do I depict the entire tale. I feel introducing little changes are important so that the genre is not typecast,” says Japani. In 2018, along with her cousin Dilip Shyam (36), she presented the monuments of Delhi in Gond patterns in the exhibition “Gond Views: From Their Natural World to Visions of Delhi”. If the Qutub Minar was surrounded with trees occupied by monkeys and mythical birds, a night scene had birds admiring the Red Fort from a cloudy sky.

Characterised by fine lines and geometric patterns, Gond art is most often painted in bright hues but Japani distinguishes her works with a colour palette dominated by black and white. “I wanted to highlight the detailing,” says the artist. Though she has moved to using more colour, she is on the lookout for natural colours. “We work with acrylics, which have a very different finish from the natural colours once available in our village,” says Japani. She shares how the ongoing exhibition brings back pleasant memories, as it is at the same venue that she had exhibited alongside her father’s works in December 2013. “It was indeed special to have my work on the walls with his,” says Japani, as she returns to an incomplete work at her studio-home in Bhopal, a tale of birds and fishes.

This article appeared in the print edition with the headline ‘Geometry of Patterns’

Vandana Kalra

Vandana Kalra is an art critic and Deputy Associate Editor with The Indian Express. She has spent more than two decades chronicling arts, culture and everyday life, with modern and contemporary art at the heart of her practice. With a sustained engagement in the arts and a deep understanding of India’s cultural ecosystem, she is regarded as a distinctive and authoritative voice in contemporary art journalism in India. Vandana Kalra's career has unfolded in step with the shifting contours of India’s cultural landscape, from the rise of the Indian art market to the growing prominence of global biennales and fairs. Closely tracking its ebbs and surges, she reports from studios, galleries, museums and exhibition spaces and has covered major Indian and international art fairs, museum exhibitions and biennales, including the Venice Biennale, Kochi-Muziris Biennale, Documenta, Islamic Arts Biennale. She has also been invited to cover landmark moments in modern Indian art, including SH Raza’s exhibition at the Centre Pompidou in Paris and the opening of the MF Husain Museum in Doha, reflecting her long engagement with the legacies of India’s modern masters. Alongside her writing, she applies a keen editorial sensibility, shaping and editing art and cultural coverage into informed, cohesive narratives. Through incisive features, interviews and critical reviews, she brings clarity to complex artistic conversations, foregrounding questions of process, patronage, craft, identity and cultural memory. The Global Art Circuit: She provides extensive coverage of major events like the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, Serendipity Arts Festival, and high-profile international auctions. Artist Spotlights: She writes in-depth features on modern masters (like M.F. Husain) and contemporary performance artists (like Marina Abramović). Art and Labor: A recurring theme in her writing is how art reflects the lives of the marginalized, including migrants, farmers, and labourers. Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) Her recent portfolio is dominated by the coverage of the 2025 art season in India: 1. Kochi-Muziris Biennale & Serendipity Arts Festival "At Serendipity Arts Festival, a 'Shark Tank' of sorts for art and crafts startups" (Dec 20, 2025): On how a new incubator is helping artisans pitch products to investors. "Artist Birender Yadav's work gives voice to the migrant self" (Dec 17, 2025): A profile of an artist whose decade-long practice focuses on brick kiln workers. "At Kochi-Muziris Biennale, a farmer’s son from Patiala uses his art to draw attention to Delhi’s polluted air" (Dec 16, 2025). "Kochi Biennale showstopper Marina Abramović, a pioneer in performance art" (Dec 7, 2025): An interview with the world-renowned artist on the power of reinvention. 2. M.F. Husain & Modernism "Inside the new MF Husain Museum in Qatar" (Nov 29, 2025): A three-part series on the opening of Lawh Wa Qalam in Doha, exploring how a 2008 sketch became the architectural core of the museum. "Doha opens Lawh Wa Qalam: Celebrating the modernist's global legacy" (Nov 29, 2025). 3. Art Market & Records "Frida Kahlo sets record for the most expensive work by a female artist" (Nov 21, 2025): On Kahlo's canvas The Dream (The Bed) selling for $54.7 million. "All you need to know about Klimt’s canvas that is now the most expensive modern artwork" (Nov 19, 2025). "What’s special about a $12.1 million gold toilet?" (Nov 19, 2025): A quirky look at a flushable 18-karat gold artwork. 4. Art Education & History "Art as play: How process-driven activities are changing the way children learn art in India" (Nov 23, 2025). "A glimpse of Goa's layered history at Serendipity Arts Festival" (Dec 9, 2025): Exploring historical landmarks as venues for contemporary art. Signature Beats Vandana is known for her investigative approach to the art economy, having recently written about "Who funds the Kochi-Muziris Biennale?" (Dec 11, 2025), detailing the role of "Platinum Benefactors." She also explores the spiritual and geometric aspects of art, as seen in her retrospective on artist Akkitham Narayanan and the history of the Cholamandal Artists' Village (Nov 22, 2025). ... Read More

Loading Recommendations...

May 16: Latest News

Live Blog