Warli Art

Anil Vangad is a Contemporary painter from India. He has exhibited widely enjoying major solo shows in Singapore, Hong Kong, US, UK, France, India, Korea and many other Countries. Hailing from the Warli tribes in Maharashtra, whilst Anil lives and works in his traditional village, like many tribal artists he is also well-travelled and deftly combines modern life with traditional heritage. He is an experimental artist and embraces new possibilities. In his everyday practise Anil uses traditional techniques and a painting style that goes back as far as the histories of his tribes. Homes in the Warli villages have mud walls and as the traditions in his village are recalled, during special events and festivals the houses are decorated in patterns and images that bring luck and are used as an expression of celebration. In the second part of the 20th century the Waril artists realised there was an interest in their art so they started painting their images and symbols on cloth to sell as a source of income. Images in Anil’s paintings are of the daily Warli life, the tribes tales and narratives. During festivals the people love to dance. A famous Warli dance is performed in a circle and references can be seen to this in many of Anil’s paintings. Pattern is everywhere in the ears of corn in the fields to flocks of birds in the skies. The Warli villagers are always shown in action, as doing. They are cooking, fishing, hunting, tending to animals and so forth. The artist paints using traditional materials. He primes his canvas cloth with cow dung which is lucky. He sometimes uses earth and the colour changes depending on the season and the amount of rain. The white colour is rice paste mixed with neem and is applied with a bamboo stick. At the turn of the 20th century the artists embraced acrylic colours and synthetic materials but like many of us, they now understand the best way to preserve nature and their heritage is by using natural pigments and cloths. Acrylic colours are still used sometimes as they are an easier medium to do fine work with. Anil may have moved back to traditional materials but his paintings are constantly challenging the conventions of traditional Warli imagery. Whilst still retaining the essence of this practice, he offers us beautiful minimal compositions, flat-field perspective and incorporates modernity and technology, mostly as an indication of how life for his village is changing. Like many Indians he is worried how the technological advancements are damaging his way of life and threatening the land that he serves. He brings all of this into his art. He celebrates all that is good and questions that which challenges his Warli tribe. Anil’s work has been exhibited worldwide. He has worked on vast mural projects and also works on small scale paintings. He was taught by his Mother. His work is held in prestigious public and private collections.