Self portrait

Artist Manu Parekh (born 1939)

dated 2012, Acrylic on canvas
30 x 24 in. (76.2 x 61 cm.)

This self-portrait by Manu Parekh is a striking example of expressive figuration, a hallmark of the artist’s mature style. Painted with bold, almost aggressive brushwork, the portrait radiates raw energy. The thick impasto, vibrant red-orange background, and distorted facial proportions create an emotional intensity that transcends realism. The gaze is direct, confronting the viewer with an unsettling sincerity. The treatment of the face—with exaggerated outlines, textured white beard, and red lips—echoes both folk aesthetics and modernist distortions. This reflects Parekh’s unique ability to merge the traditional with the contemporary.

Manu Parekh is one of India’s most respected modern painters. Trained at Sir J.J. School of Art in Bombay, he began his career designing for the Handicrafts Board, which exposed him deeply to Indian folk and tribal art—an influence visible in his visual vocabulary. A pivotal moment in his career came after a stay in Banaras, a city that inspired some of his most iconic and spiritually charged works. Parekh’s art explores themes of inner conflict, ritual, sexuality, and divinity, often fusing abstraction with figuration.

He received the Padma Shri in 1992 and several national awards, and his works are held in major collections like the NGMA and Lalit Kala Akademi. Parekh’s legacy lies in his fearless emotional honesty and his synthesis of Indian ethos with global modernism.