ART & ARTISTS

Goa is known for its beaches and nightlife, for its laidback susegad vibe but its art and artists rarely get the spotlight despite the fact that some of India’s top artists who achieve high prices at national and international auctions and are collected by museums abroad come from Goa including FN Souza (1924 – 2002) and VS Gaitonde (1924–2001) a Padma Shri Awardee.

Other Masters who leave behind an immeasurable legacy include the figurative artists Antonio Trinidade (1870-1935), Antonio Piedade da Cruz or ‘Cruzo’, (1895-1982), Angelo da Fonseca (1902–1967), Vamona Navelcar (1930 – 2021) and the abstractionist Laxman Pai (1926-2021), a Padmashri awardee along with Mario João Carlos do Rosario de Brito Miranda, (1926 –2011) or Mario Miranda, easily among India’s most famous and beloved cartoonists.

The contemporary art scene is also vibrant with noted artists Dr Subodh Kerkar, Francis De Souza, Sonia Sabharwal, and younger practitioners Kedar Dhondhu, Diptej Vernekar and Chaitali Morajkar among others carrying this legacy forward. Goa has recently drawn in a vibrant community of artists and designers that keep the State pulsing with vitality and there is lots to view and enjoy across a range of media from paintings and sculptures to ceramics, stoneware and even art in metal and concrete.