Studio Visit: Atul Dodiya

‘I was born and brought up in Mumbai,’ says artist Atul Dodiya, walking through the bustling streets of the city he describes as ‘truly metropolitan’ — a journey that takes in sights from on-street barbers to skyscrapers.
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The centre of the booming Bollywood industry, Mumbai’s walls are busy with film posters that serve as an influence to Dodiya’s practice. ‘Sometimes just a single word can trigger a series of paintings,’ explains the artist. ‘I get this urgent need to explore — that’s how it starts.’
In this video, Dodiya, whose work features in our 14 September South Asian Modern + Contemporary Art sale, takes us inside his studio, discussing the stories behind finished paintings, and offering a preview of works in progress. A new series of shutter paintings, first begun in 2000, recall the citywide curfews prompted by 90s riots, while a trio of works pays homage to his friend, the artist Bhupen Khakhar.
Anchored in his home city, Dodiya’s practice is nevertheless influenced by the work of Western artists — from Howard Hodgkin and Jasper Johns to Pablo Picasso and Marcel Duchamp, who he describes as being ‘like family’. As for his process, Dodiya admits to a degree of spontaneity. ‘You could have a text of Gandhi, or images of great film makers, but it’s how you make an independent work of art — that’s the concern.’