BEGINNINGS
J Sultan Ali was born in Mumbai, Maharashtra. He was born of Ismaili Khoja parents, originally from Gujarat. In 1935 he came to Chennai at the age of fifteen, and was groomed for the confectionery business which his father had embarked upon. 1954 he became the member of Progressive Painter`s Association, Chennai. 1963 member of the Indian Delegation to the First All Asia Art Exhibition and Conference, Nepal. 1967 member of Artists Handicrafts Association, Chennai. 1968 the Foreign Office of the Federal Republic of Germany sent him on a sight seeing tour to West Germany. 1969 he joined K.C.S. Paniker at the Cholamandal Artist`s Village, Chennai. 1970-77 Vice Presedent, Artists Handicrafts Association, Chennai. 1977-80 President, Artists Handicrafts Association, Chennai. Travelled to England, sponsored by the British Council, London. Also visited Paris and other countries to see important Museums and Galleries. 1970-90 he was a freelance painter
EDUCATION
1939-45 Studied at Government College of Arts and Crafts, Chennai earning a first class diploma in Painting 1946 Learnt Textile Designing at Government Textile Institute, Chennai1947 Diploma in Photography, Lingham`s Institute of Photography
EXHIBITIONS
1946 Solo exhibition at Hindi Prachar Sabha, Chennai 1949 Solo exhibition at Theosophical Society, Madanapalle, Andhra Pradesh 1956 Contemporary Indian Art Exhibition to Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia and USSR by Government of India, New Delhi. 1956-89 Participated in all the National Exhibitions of Art, Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi 1957 First South East Asian Exhibition, Manila, Philippines1959 Indian Contemporary Art Exhibition, Villa Hugel, West Germany 1960 Exhibition of Contemporary Indian Painting at U.A.E., Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi 1961 Indian Art Exhibition at Latin America by Government of India, New Delhi1962 Participated in the First International Exhibition of Fine Arts, Saigon 1962 Exhibition Commonwealth Art Today, Commonwealth Institute, London 1962 Indian Art Today to Bulgaria, AIFACS, New Delhi1964 Solo exhibition of drawings, Triveni Gallery, New Delhi 1964 Solo exhibition of drawings, Gallery Chemould, Mumbai1965 Ten Conte
COLLECTION
National Gallery of Modern Art, New DelhiLalit Kala Academi, New DelhiFord Foundation, New DelhiAir India, MumbaiPanjab Museum, ChandigarhAndhera Pradesh State Museum, HyderabadBharat Kala Bhavan, VaranasiNational Art Gallery, ChennaiIndian International Centre, New DelhiBirla Academy of Art and Culture, KolkataUSIS, New DelhiRaj Bhavan, AhmedabadMassachussets Institute of Technology, Massachussets, U.S.A.Brandeis University, U.S.A.Berlin Museum of Indian Art, GermanyCommonwealth Institute, Sydney, AustraliaMasanori Fukoka and Glenbarra Meseum, Hemeji, JapanInstitute of Papua New Guinea Studies, Papua New GuineaRoyal Tropical Museum, HollandThe Asia and Pacific Museum, PolandDelhi Art Gallery, New Delhi
AWARDS
1945 Award for painting "The Divine Light", Fine Arts Exhibition, Chennai1947 Awarded Scholarship for studying textile designing course at Government Textile Institute, Chennai1953 Award for painting "Struggle", All India Swadeshi Exhibition, Chennai1956 Award for painting "Winter Night", Academy of Fine Arts, Amritsar1957 Award for painting Shilpa Kala Parishad, Patna1958 Punjab Government Silver Medal, Academy of Fine Arts, Amritsar1963 President of India`s Silver Plaque, for best painting "Sea Life" at the 33rd Annual Art Exhibition of AIFACS, New Delhi1966 National Award for drawing, Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi1976 Special Award of Honour, Karnataka, Chitrakala Parishad, Bangaluru1978 National Award for painting, Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi1985 Silver plaque presented by AIFACS, for contribution to Art at the 2nd Veteran Artists Exhibition, New Delhi1986 Conferred Fellowship of the Tamil Nadu Oviam Nankalai Kuzhu (Tamil Nadu State Lalit Kala Akademi), Chen
STYLE
His pictorial language is basically symbolic, which was markedly influenced by his direct experience of tribal life and culture. No wonder his art had so much spontaneity and purity in it. Creatures and forces of nature assume anthromorphic forms, symbol of powers, both earthly and magical. The complexity of meaning is also reflected in the corresponding complexity of technique. He developed a very elaborate way of representing space: figures are superimposed on figures, colours merge into each other, forming misty and defused effect, which could be read as a mass of detail
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
1947-48 Senior Instructor, Painting Department, Government College of Art and Craft, Chennai
1951-54 Art Instructor, The Rishi Valley School, Madanapalle, Andhera Pradesh
1954-69 Exhibition Officer, Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi
