Sanjeev Sonpimpare

Born in Mumbai in 1969, Sanjeev Sonpimpare graduated in painting from the Sir J.J. School of Art in Mumbai in 1993 and subsequently obtained a UNESCO-Aschberg residency at the Irish Museum of Modern Art in Dublin in 2000. Initially practising abstraction, the artist soon turned to a figurative language that underscored the difficulties of life in India's major metropolises. 

In his works, Sonpimpare reinterprets Mumbai street scenes, middle-class figures, magazine covers, and infomercial images with a touch of humour. The artist combines photography, digital interventions, and drawings to create large-format canvases, enhancing the special theatrical appeal of his work. 

Sonpimpare, who also writes about art, has participated in several solo exhibitions in Mumbai and Dublin. Since the mid-1990s, his works have been featured in group exhibitions in cities across the subcontinent, including Bombay, Kochi, New Delhi, Calcutta, Hyderabad, and Kathmandu. In 1992, the artist received the First Solomon Abraham Prize for Watercolour Portraiture at the Sir J.J. School of Art. 

The artist resides in Bombay and works from his studio in the city.

BORN

1969 Maharashtra

EDUCATION QUALIFICATIONS

1993 Bachelor of Fine Arts (Painting), Sir J.J. School of Art, Mumbai

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2007 Cash Cow, Institute of Contemporary Indian Art (ICIA), Mumbai

2006 Metromorph, Articulate Art Gallery, Mumbai

2006 Confronting the Urban Construct, Arts Trust Online Exhibition

2004 Sceptics, Jehangir Art Gallery and Beyond Gallery, Mumbai

2000 Irish Studios, Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin, Ireland

1998-99 Recycled, Birla Academy of Art and Culture, Mumbai

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2010 Symbols and Metaphors, Centre for International Modern Art (CIMA), Kolkata

2010 India: Rising Tradition Meets Modernity, presented by Ati Art Gallery at Varya, New Delhi

2009 Life is a Stage, Institute of Contemporary Indian Art (ICIA), Mumbai

2008 Concept and Ideas, 2008, Centre for International Modern Art (CIMA), Kolkata

2008 Keep Drawing, Espace Gallery, New Delhi

2006 Thought and Being, Osmosis Gallery, Mumbai

2006 Spandan, Articulate Art Gallery, Mumbai

2006 Creative Collaborations: Extending the Frame, Kitab Mahal, Mumbai

2005 The Quotable Stencil: The Second Coming, Tao Art Gallery, Mumbai

2005 Abstraction is Alive and Kicking, Beyond Gallery, Mumbai

2006 Exhibition of the 4th Anniversary, Srishti Art Gallery, Hyderabad

2005 Creative Collaborations Extending the Frame, Kitab Mahal, Mumbai

2005 Metrospective, Kitab Mahal, Mumbai

2005 Present and Future, National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), Mumbai

2005 Idea and Images, National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), Mumbai

2005 Are We Just Like This?, Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi

2004 Bombay Boys, Palette Art Gallery, New Delhi

2004 Bombay x 17, Kashi Art Gallery, Kochi

2004 Ideas and Images VI, National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), Mumbai

2004 Contemporary Expressions of India, Siddharth Art Gallery, Kathmandu

2002 The Quotable Stencil, Tao Art Gallery, Mumbai

2002 Mela: A Carnival of Indian Art, Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai

2001 Excerpts from the Pages of My Diary, The Fine Art Company, Mumbai

2001 SIC, Collaborative Installation by Four Bombay Artists Including Photography, Sound, Video, and Light at The Fine Art Company, Mumbai

2000 Memoranda for the New Millennium by Artists of a Changing World, Birla Academy of Art and Culture, Mumbai

2000 Art and Technology, National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), Mumbai

1997 50 Years of Art in Bombay, National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), Mumbai

1996 Wall of Mirrors, Lakeeren and Jehangir Art Galleries, Mumbai

PARTICIPATIONS

2010 Contemporary Printmaking in India, presented by the Priyasri Art Gallery, Mumbai, at the Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai; Priyasri Art Gallery, Mumbai

2009 Miniature Format Exhibition 2009 Part II, Sans Tache Gallery, Mumbai

2005 Arad Biennale, Romania

2005 Harmony Exhibition, World Trade Centre, Mumbai

2002 Harmony Exhibition, Nehru Centre, Mumbai

HONORS AND AWARD

2000 UNESCO ASCHBERG Prize, Artist in Residence Programme at the Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin, Ireland

1992 Solomon Abraham First Prize for Portraiture in Watercolour, Sir J.J. School of the Arts, Bombay