Mehlli Gobhai
Mehlli Gobhai (1931 – 2018) was one of the foremost abstract artists in India. After graduating from St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai, he studied at the Royal College of Art, London and then Pratt Graphic Centre and the Art Students League, New York. He lived and worked in New York for over 20 years, returning to Mumbai in the late 1980’s.
He has held many solo and group shows in India and internationally. His solo exhibitions include 2011 ‘New Works’, Chemould Prescott Road, Mumbai, 2004 ‘Prism of Darkness’ Chemould Prescott Road, Mumbai, 2002 Gallery Chemould, Mumbai, 1995 Gallery Chemould, Mumbai, 1992 Gallery Chemould, Mumbai, 1980 New India House, New York and 1985 Gallery 7, Mumbai.
His group participations include 2013 ‘Aesthetic Bind: Subject of Death’, Chemould Prescott Road, Mumbai, 2007 1st Anniversary Show, Galerie Mirchandani + Steinruecke, Mumbai, 2006 Group show with Nasreen Mohamedi and Zarina Hashmi, Bombay Art Gallery, Mumbai, 2004 ‘Subtlety-Minimally’, Sakshi Gallery (curated by Marta Jakimowiez), Mumbai, 2003 Crossing Generations: Diverge 40 years of Gallery Chemould (curated by Geeta Kapur and Chaitanya Sambrani), Mumbai, 2000 ‘A Global View: Indian Artists at Home in the World’, Fine Arts Resource (curated by Bernhard Steinrucke), Berlin, 2000 ‘Intersections: Seven Artistic Dialogues between Abstraction and Figuration’, The Guild Art Gallery (curated by Ranjit Hoskote), Mumbai, 1994 ‘Hinged by Light’, Pundole Art Gallery (curated by Ranjit Hoskote), Mumbai and 1980 ‘Marking Black’, Bronx Museum of the Arts (curated by Madeleine Burnside), New York.
The artist passed away in 2018 in Mumbai.
In the making: Drawing, Refining, Revising
Group Show2 Aug - 3 Sep 2024In the Making: Drawing, Refining, Revising is a group exhibition where we have brought together 15 artists from the gallery to whom drawing is the essence of studio life: a...Read moreModus Operandi III: Together Alone
Group Show11 Aug - 10 Sep 2022The premise of Modus Operandi began and continues with an exhibition of Chemould's roster of artists - every iteration presents us an opportunity to exhibit them under one roof, in...Read moreI draw, therefore I think
Mehlli Gobhai & Vivan Sundaram | SOUTH SOUTH11 Sep - 30 Oct 2021We are delighted to participate in SOUTH SOUTH’s first Curatorial Project titled I draw, therefore I think curated by Jitish Kallat. This drawing project is prompted by Charles Darwin’s 1837...Read moreMehlli Gobhai: Epiphanies
A series of breakthrough moments27 Jul - 18 Sep 2021Curated by Ranjit Hoskote & Nancy Adajania Meherwan Minocher Gobhai (1931-2018), always known as Mehlli Gobhai, was one of India’s most distinguished and pathbreaking abstractionists. Educated at St Xavier’s College...Read moreOn|Site | Entry Only
Group show3 - 9 Mar 2021A collaborative project between four galleries at Bikaner House, New Delhi. Bikaner House, a former residence of the Maharaja of Bikaner in Rajasthan, retains its grand aura of a distinguished...Read moreDon't ask me about colour
Mehlli Gobhai: A Retrospective6 Mar - 25 Apr 2020Venue: National Gallery of Modern Art, Mumbai. Curated by Ranjit Hoskote & Nancy Adajania Meherwan Minocher Gobhai (1931-2018), always known as Mehlli Gobhai, was one of India’s most distinguished and...Read moreAesthetic Bind: Subject of Death
50 Years of Chemould | Group Show3 Sep - 3 Oct 2013Chemould Prescott Road, celebrates 50 years of Contemporary Art through a series of 5 exhibitions, Aesthetic Bind, curated by Geeta Kapur which looks at curatorial practices in contemporary art today....Read moreNew Works
Mehlli Gobhai13 Jan - 28 Feb 2011Surge and Absorption Austerely refined as they are, in the taut linearity of their structure and the deep-welling penumbral richness of their colour, Mehlli Gobhai’s paintings have often been thought...Read morecrossing generations: diVERGE
40 Years of Chemould | Group Show2 - 14 Dec 2003diVERGE is premised on the polyphony articulated by contemporary artists in India. Rather than zooming in to chart a convergent discourse, the exhibition pans over a diverse spectrum of subjectivities...Read more
Aesthetic Bind
50 Years of Contemporary Art 2013 - 14SoftcoverRead more
Dimensions: 24 x 29 cm
crossing generations: diVERGE
40 Years of Gallery Chemould 2003SoftcoverRead more
Dimensions: 29.5 x 23 cm
Lakshmi, the water buffalo who wouldn't
Written and illustrated by Mehlli Gobhai 2018HardcoverRead more
Publisher: Talking Cub
ISBN: 978-93-87164-31-4
Dimensions: 24.5 x 20 cm
New Works
Mehlli Gobhai 2011SoftcoverRead more
Dimensions: 27.5 x 24.5 cm
The Legend of the Orange Princess
Retold and illustrated by Mehlli Gobhai 2018HardcoverRead more
Publisher: Talking Cub
ISBN: 978-93-87164-29-1
Dimensions: 21.5 x 22 cm
Works on Canvas and Paper
Mehlli Gobhai 2007Read more
Works On Paper
Mehlli Gobhai 2011Read more
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