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Nikhil Chaganlal

Born in 1961 in Mumbai, India, Nikhil Chaganlal is a self-taught artist who, Says Chaganlal, “I paint portraits of Interiors. The painting, each one a room, is like a private diary disclosing places of old-world charm, with an embrace of intimacy, of happy days almost forgotten.” His works reflect his journey into an inward retreat of a disturbed childhood. His body of work is a painterly autobiography of a suggestive presence of people from his past. Narrations hidden in objects and furniture sometimes reveal emotions of restless sexuality and aspiring spirituality.

Chaganlal, over the years, has developed a unique technique of painting on Masonite. He uses acrylic combined with oil paints and chemical sealants used in the fishing boat industry. He almost always paints at night by candlelight, giving his work a gentle luminosity. The entire process is time consuming – the works are multi-layered, with each layer needing to dry in the sunlight for a day before he can work on it again. Once the layers have reached a significant impasto look and feel, the work is ready to be sealed chemically rendering the work 100% waterproof and scratch resistant to any kind of wear or damage.

Nikhil Chaganlal has exhibited extensively both in India and abroad and his artwork is a part of several important private collections.