Born. 9th November,1945, Kota
Shail Choyal is a painter & printmaker known for a distinctive miniature style of his own, through which he has carved a niche for himself in the contemporary art scene in the country. He infuses his works in the narrative idiom and also juxtaposes the allegorical with the real. Exploiting the inherent aesthetic motifs and the multi tier division of space of Rajasthani traditional painting, he has evolved a nostalgic art with an utmost modern sensibility. Vibrant colors and surreal settings add mystery to his paintings creating ethereal atmosphere & fantasy.‘City of Udaipur, with its glorious ancient Rajput architecture, lakes, hills, gardens and robust people with brilliant colors have always been my prime concern. Rigid angular form in horizontal and vertical lines punctuated with curvilinear motifs of doors, windows, still bluer lakes, domes and turrets all fill me with strong sense of nostalgia. For years, I exploited the visual references of my lovely city to project my own personal world that has been mystical and real as well’ says Shail.
Art Education
M.A. (Painting) 1969, University of Udaipur.
Studied Printmaking at the Slade College of Art, London under British Council Scholarship – 1975-76.
Ph.D.(Nathdwara School of Painting, A study of Painting from Mid 19th Century to Mid 20th Century) 1980.
Attended Fresco & Mural Course at Banasthali Vidyapeeth in the year 1968.
Awards
1969 Rajasthan Lalit Kala Academy award for Printmaking.
1970 All India Kalidas Exhibition, M.P award for painting.
1971 Bombay Art Society award for painting.
All India Fine Arts and Crafts Society award for painting.
1972 Rajasthan Lalit Kala Academy for painting.
Academy of Fine Arts, Calcutta award for painting.
All India Fine Arts and Crafts Society award for painting.
1973 Bombay Art Society award for painting.
1974 British Council Fellowship.
1976 Rajasthan Lalit Kala Academy award for Printmaking.
1977 Bombay Art Society award for Printmaking.
1978 Bombay Art Society award for Printmaking.
Rajasthan Lalit Kala Academy award for Printmaking.
1979 President of India Sh. Neelam Sanjiva Reddy award by AIFACS for painting.
1980 Awarded Ph.D. degree.
Graphic—80, merit award.
All India Mahakaushal Kala Parishad exhibition award for painting.
1981 Academy of Fine Arts, Amritsar award for painting.
1982 National Award by Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi.
1990 All India Exhibition, U.P State Lalit Kala award for painting.
1991 ADOGI Mini Print International award for printmaking, Barcelona, Spain.
Fellowships
British Council Fellowship to study Print- making in Britain in the academic year 1975-76.
Fellowship on ‘Graphics and its Popularization’ by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India (1980-82)
Senior fellowship for painting by H.R.D. ministry of culture, Government of India - 2000-2002
Honours and Offices Held
Taught at the Department of Painting, M.L.S.University,Udaipur between 1970 and 1999.
Acted as the Jury at the…
‘Gujarat Academy of Art and Culture’ ‘Jammu & Kashmir Academy of Art and Language’, ‘Rajasthan Lalit Kala Akademi’, ‘Andhra Pradesh Lalit Kala Akademi, Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi in their exhibitions and ADOGI Mini print International exhibition, Cadaques, Barcelona, Spain in the year 1992.
UNICEF acquired one of the works for their greeting card.
Marlin Durrah, a film maker from Oragon, USA made a 20 minutes film on Shail’s Art.
Was elected on the general council as one among the nine eminent artists of India by Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi-1980;
Vice Chairman, Rajasthan Lalit Kala Akademi between 1981 and 1983.
Member- General Council, Executive Board, Triennial Committee at the Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi;
Commissionor - 6th Triennale, India, L.K.A. and compilled Indian section.
Commissioner from India for the Twenty First International Festival of Painting, at Cagnes Sur Mer, France.
Member on the Governing Council, Indian Council for Cultural Relations, New Delhi.
Member at the General Council of Sangeet Natak Akademi, New DCreative Director, West Zone Cultural Centre for ‘Apna Utsav’ held in Delhi in 1986.
Member on the Governing body of West Zone Cultural Centre.
Represented India at the Asian Festival, Bali (Indonesia), 1987.
Member on the Advisory Committee of Garhi Studios, New Delhi.
Academic and Creative Renderings
Assisted Shri Bhanu Bharti, an eminent theater director of India in directing a film on ‘GAVARI’ a famous tribal dance-drama.
Directed a 16 mm film ‘The Spirit is Alive’ on Nathdwara Painting for Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi.
Participation
India
1971 25 years of Indian Art Exhibition
1974 III Triennale, India
1979 Trade Fair Exhibition
1985 ‘Print-Making Today’, an exhibition compiled by Jehangir Art Gallery.
1980,81,82,84 Graphic- Chandigarh Museum & Art Gallery
1985 Graphic since 1900—an exhibition of prints compiled by LKA
1985 Graphic workshop convened by Prof. Paul Lingren and organized by USIS.
1985 Traveling Exhibition organized by Lalit Kala Akademi
1989 Self Portraits of Indian Artists by Village Gallery
Participated in International Seminar and presented
1991 A paper during VII Triennale.
1992 Invited to participate in the ‘Indian Contemporary Art’ an exhibition compiled by Birla Academy of Arts, Calcutta
1993 Invited by Ambassade de France for participation in the Show SOUVVENIRS D’EN FRANCE.
1997 Major tends in Indian art, LKA, New Delhi.
1999 Art & Cinema, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi
2000 Ravi Mamorial Trust, New Delhi
2001 Help age, Mumbai
2002 ’Half a foot’ a miniature formats exhibition, Organized by Dhoomimal art center, New Delhi.
2002 One man show at Dhoomimal Art Center – New Delhi
2002 8th Harmony show-Bombay
2004 ‘Swarn rekha’ exhibition of National & Triennale Awardees organized by Lalit Kala Akademi- New Delhi
2004 ‘Art for Vision’ - a charity exhibition curatted by Sushama Behl
2004-05 10th and 11th Harmony Show-Bombay
2008 "Current Impressions: Prints by Contemporary Indian Printmakers" at 'The Frank Museum of Art' Westerville, Ohio and at Otterbein college museum, USA.
2008 ‘Art today in Rajasthan’ - Dhoomimal Art Center, New Delhi.
2009 Group Show – Choyals at Karnataka Chitra Ka;la Parishad, Bangalore
Extension lectures continued till date (periodically) at Centre for Cultural Resources and Training
Abroad
1976 Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy, London.
1980 Ajia Bijutsu—16th Asian Modern Art Exhibition, Japan
1983 India Through Prints by Tropen Museum, Netherlands.
1985 India festival at U.S.A.
1986-87 I.C.C.R.’s traveling exhibition of prints to several European Countries.
1985 15th International Art Exhibition, Tokyo, Japan.
1985 Mostura De Cultura Indiana Lisbon.
1985 2nd Asian Art Exhibition, Fukuoka, Japan
1989 21st International Painting Festival, Cagues Sur-Mer, France.
1989 Teressera Biennal De la Habana, the international Art Biennale At Cuba.
1989 Held one man show in Riga, Latvia
1990 Held one man show in escape Blue Gallery, Paris
1990 Participated in Group show at Kyoto organized by Shimin Gaiko, Japan.
1991 Participated in ADOGI, Mini Print International, Spain.
1992 Held one person show of graphics at ADOGI Gallery, Cadaques, Spain
1994 Held one person show at Aunkan Gallery, Osaka
1997 Participated in Sydney Art Festival
1997 Held one-man show at Frankfurt organized by G.T.D.
2000 Attended Langkawi international art festival , Malayasia
2010 ‘ La Dance Des Couleurs’ La Roteonde des Arts
Contemporarains, Abidjan, Ivory Coast, Africa.
2010 4th International Beijing Biennale, China
Artist Residency
2008 Regional Centre, Lalit Kala Kendera Lucknow.
Camps
India
Invited to participate in several Artists Camps at Delhi, Kasauli, Jammu & Kashmir, Shantiniketan, Bangalore, Chandigarh,Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Ujjain, Gwalior, Bombay, Agra, Nainital, Jaipur, Mollela and Udaipur.
Abroad
1987 Attended Asian Art Festival at Bali as an Indian Delegate
1989 Attended International Seminar & Painting Workshop at Cesis, Latvia, U.S.S.R.
1993 Lectured at City hall Kobe and Shimin Gaiko, Kyoto
1994 Lectured at Art council, Osaka, Japan
1997 Participated in Sydney Art Festival
1997 One man show at Frankfurt curetted by German Development corporation (GTZ)
1997 One men show at Atelier Spiserhus Gallery, Rheinfelden, Switzerland
2000 Lectured at LIFA, Malaysia and attended International Art Festival at Langkawi
2001 ‘Scapes contemporary Indian artists’ organized by Maya Puri and Sagiri Dayal at Hong Kong Visual Arts Centre
2009 Participation-India Art Festival at Kuwait
2011 Lectured at the ollege of Fine Art, Abidjan, Ivory cost, N.Africa
Tours & Visits
Visited Art Galleries in Eastern & Western European Museums in London, Holland, Scotland, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Russia, Latvia Czechoslovakia, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, France, Spain, Japan, Hong Kong, Beijing, Thiland, Nepal, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia etc.