Naina Dalal is a leading Indian artist whose powerful body of work in painting and printmaking testifies to a profound concern with human feeling, self, and the complexed experiences of womanhood. Born in Vadodara, Gujarat, in 1935, Dalal has always stayed close to her roots, both as a person and as an artist. She studied Bachelor of Arts in Painting and Master of Arts in Fine Arts from the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda's Faculty of Fine Arts and finished her academic education in 1959.
Her studies led her overseas shortly thereafter, where she learned lithography at the London Polytechnic between 1960 and 1963. Subsequently, in 1977, she broadened her knowledge of printmaking by learning etching at the Pratt Graphic Centre in New York. These early overseas experiences had a profound impact on her visual vocabulary, introducing her to a variety of techniques and conceptual strategies that she would incorporate into her practice.
Dalal's work is characterised by a subtle yet powerful introspection, usually examining the lives and emotional conditions of women. Her works have female figures, animals, and still-life objects that appear to have stories of their own—silent, contemplative, and imbued with emotional significance. Her insistence on 'interiority' gives her work a spiritual and psychological profundity that imbues it with Karuna—a feeling of compassion and empathy.
She has found inspiration in the methods and ideology of European Old Masters, in the expressive power of German Expressionists, and in contemporary painters like Pablo Picasso, Käthe Kollwitz, and Emil Nolde. And yet, her own work remains intensely located within Indian tradition, infusing a multicultural vocabulary of image that crosses times and places.
Throughout her long and distinguished career, Dalal has had over ten solo exhibitions and has shown work in over seventy group exhibitions both within India and abroad. She has had her work represented in some of the most prestigious institutions, such as the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and the Museum of Indian Art in Berlin. She has been included in significant exhibitions like the Baroda Group of Artists in Mumbai, the South Asian Artists exhibition in London, the VI Triennale in New Delhi, and the Bharat Bhavan Biennale in Bhopal.
Dalal's artistic merit has been recognised with many awards. In 1960, she won the First Prize in Painting at the Bombay State Art Exhibition and was given the Gaurav Puraskar by the Gujarat State Lalit Kala Academy in 2017. Her paintings are included in a number of prominent public and private collections in India and overseas, which is a testament to her timeless relevance and importance.
Aside from her artistic production, Dalal has also served as a mentor and guide to young artists, sharing her experience and wisdom with generosity. She still resides and works in Vadodara, where she is still a vital voice in the Indian art world. Her work, imbued with empathy and rich emotional depth, continues to engage audiences, testifying to her lifelong dedication to exploring the human condition through visual form.
Bachelors of Fine Arts Faculty of Fine Arts, Vadodara
Masters from Faculty of Fine Arts, Vadodara.
London Polytechnique and Pratt Graphic in New York (Lithography and Etching).
