Neelkant Choudhary

Born 1962 in Bihar

Qualification BA from University of Punjab,

Chandigarh

Solo Shows

1996 – Jawaharlal Kala Kendra, Jaipur

1996- Suraj Kund Crafts Mela, New Delhi

1999- Lalit Kala Akedemi, New Delhi

2000- Lalit Kala Akedemi, New Delhi

2001- Gallerie Ganesha, New Delhi

2004-Gallerie Ganesha, New Delhi

2009-Gallerie Ganesha, New Delhi

2010- Gallerie Ganesha, New Delhi

Participated in Government Sponsored exhibitions in Mumbai and Bangalore. He was chosen by the Dastakari Haat Samiti to paint a cultural map of Bihar. The map was released at a function held in India Habitat Centre in August 2001.

Worked for the World Bank for the calendar in 2006 and the year book in 2009

Group Shows

Habiart Gallery New Delhi-2002

Lalit Kalaakademi-2003

Habitat Centre-2003

Habitat Centre-2005

Habitat Centre-2007

Mauritius- 2008

Awards

Government of India’s work fellowship for senior artists. His project is on tracing the roots of Madhubani and examining its contemporary state and relevance.

Madhubani painting is the traditional art form of the Mithila region of North Bihar. Deeply Rooted in Mithila’s folk culture, Madhubani painting has been traditionally done by women to decorate their home walls for festivals and occasions like weddings. It Relies heavily on icons of Hindu mythology and figures from nature. Madhubani’s unique feature Are its uni-dimensional depictions, its intricate sketch work and its brilliant colour schemes.

Although Neelkant remains loyal to the traditional Madhubani templates, he has innovated with icons and figures in a manner no contemporary painter has. The sheer variety of Neelkant’s Madhubanis set them apart.

He belongs to the Madhubani School but is a bold individualist in his work. His motifs are traditional as well as modern- form of depictions of Durga and Kali to charwomen and village children walking to school. He brings to Madhubani painting the freshness of his keen and his courage to experiment and innovate. He is passionately devoted to this art form.

“Traditional Madhubani art is my essential form but my effort has been to bring new, more contemporary images to a style that was becoming stagnant and typecast.

My work is a merger of the traditional and modern. My motifs derive as much from the streets of New Delhi. My medium varies from vegetable dyes to water colour, oils and inks. If Madhubani has to survive, it has to adapt to the times without necessarily deserting its traditional essentials”

-Neelkant Choudhary