Jasu Rawal

Jasu Rawal was a painter, born in the ancient fortified town Halvad in 1939. Known for his vivid landscapes, he grew up watching his mother paint in the colourful suburbs of Rajkot. His school teacher gave him a book by Paul Klee, a Swiss-German artist from the 20th century. Klee painted iridescent landscapes with rich colours and forms that impressed young Rawal deeply. Rawal set out to learn arts, and completed BFA and MFA at College of Fine Arts in Baroda.
He initially explored portraiture, and discontinued it to focus on landscapes. Influenced by Paul Klee, he moved away from realistic depictions and experimented with landscapes. Using acrylic colours in various hues and tones, he portrayed the essence of everyday objects; he painted village and suburban landscapes that are untainted, peaceful and full of life. Among regal buildings, flying kites and places of worship, there are invisible characters, whose presence is evoked through playful activities. He held his first solo exhibition in 1968 at the Jehangir Art Gallery in Mumbai. In 1969, he relocated to Bangalore to join the Weavers’ Service Centre as an Art designer and worked until his retirement in 1997. Over his long career, Jasu Rawal participated in over 100 group shows in India and abroad, besides several solo exhibitions. He has held solo shows in Le Havre, France and London. His works have won him awards from the Gujarat Lalit Kala Akademi four times in the 1960s, the AIFACS award in 1963, the Karnataka Lalit Kala Akademi in 1972 and 1980, and the Karnataka State Award in 2002.