Description

Dinesh Shah was born in Sarkhej, Gujarat. He passed his elementary drawing exams in 1942 under the tutelage of artist Ambalal Patel. He joined the freedom struggle at a very young age and his earliest artistic endeavour was painting posters for the Quit India movement. In 1944, he enrolled at the J. J School of art where he studied under J. M. Ahivasi. He completed his Diploma with a specialization in mural painting. His early exposure to Chinese and Japanese watercolour paintings influenced his visual vocabulary. He was attracted by their simplification of form and lightness of line, which left a deep imprint on his works.

In 1951, he held his first solo show in Mumbai. In 1954, Dinesh took up a job of an art teacher at the New Era School in Bombay. He found his calling in mentoring young children and he remained an art educationist all his life, while pursuing his individual artistic career. In 1964, he held an important solo exhibition of his works at the Jehangir Art Gallery. The show was inaugurated by the then Governor of Maharashtra, Dr. Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit. In the same year, Dinesh travelled to Europe, USA and Japan as delegate under the aegis of New Education Fellowship to visit museums and learn more about modernism in global art movements. Dinesh Shah received numerous awards and accolades during his career including the AIFACS Award in 1999.