Many Forms of Ganesha- 4 Indian Ganesha Artists to Look Forward to this Festive Season

The first God we pray to in Hinduism is Ganesha. Before the beginning of any pooja, we invite Ganesha, the Vighnaharta, or the one who removes hurdles to ensure that we don’t face any in our sacred pooja.

The first God we pray to in Hinduism is Ganesha. Before the beginning of any pooja, we invite Ganesha, the Vighnaharta, or the one who removes hurdles to ensure that we don’t face any in our sacred pooja. Like the very many names of Ganesha, He also has numerous forms. Different Indian artists have presented Gajanana in their own unique way.

M Singh

On a beautiful vibrant background, seldom combined with whites and greys, we see an innocent painting of Bal Ganesh. The backdrop in these paintings is a simple, abstract, blunt brushwork, which resonates the childlike innocence of Bal Ganesha. M Singh portrays his Ganesha with His eyes closed and playing musical instruments; Veena, Pakhawaj or Sitar. Ganesha is worshipped for his knowledge, intelligence and keen concentration. Singh’s portrayal of Ganesha with His eyes closed concurs with His focus. These paintings strike a perfect balance between Ganesha’s generosity and wisdom.

Om Swami

The long trunk, Big ears and round belly are some of the main features of Ganesha. An artist can paint Ganesha in many forms and colours. Even capturing certain characteristics, can illustrate a stunning image of Ganesha. Different artists use a variety of colours and changing strokes to paint Ganesha. Vivid tones of reds, oranges, blues, yellows and greens create a stunning setting for Om Swami’s paintings. He then uses his fluid brushwork complementing those vibrant tones to create a conceptual form of Ganesha. Om’s paintings, like his strokes, are much more fluid than figurative. He further adorns Ganesha’s backdrop with different scriptures in a beautiful calligraphic Devnagri. With his gorgeous work, Om combines modern art with ancient Indian mythology.

Amit Bhar

Well known for his realistic work, Amit Bhar paints Ganesha in a very unique way. He often paints a grey stone sculpture, with hints of red sindoor on His forehead. Amit plays with light and shadow to highlight the different carvings and details of this Ganesha sculpture and makes them look as real as a stone sculpture. Adding details in the background gives a depth to Amit’s paintings, thus giving an illusion that Ganesha’s sculpture is placed deep inside a cave, with a limited source of light.

Om Swami Sculptures

Continuing with his fluid and vibrant theme, Om Swami created Ganesha sculptures with fibre Glass. He has created two different forms of Ganesha, both highlighting His main features; His long trunk and big ears and pot belly. Om then added different hues of bright colours and various motifs to these fibreglass sculptures. These colours, motifs and calligraphic scriptures, resonate Om’s signature style from his paintings, thus drawing a similarity between his two artworks.