EDUCATION
Primary education in Madgaon, first in Marathi for
four years from Damodar Vidyalaya, then two years in
Portuguese and further in English from New Era High
School, to complete Bombay University Matriculation.
1943-47 Educated at the J.J. School, Bombay.
EXHIBITIONS
- 1949 Joint exhb. with S. Palsikar, Bombay Art Society,
Bombay.
- 1950 First solo exhb., opened by Mr. Karl J. Khandalwala,
Bombay Art Society, Bombay.
- 1951 Exhb., Salon d` Automne, Paris.
- 1952 Exhb., Rue de Sein, Paris.
- 1952 Exhb., Galerie Raymond Duncan, Paris.
- 1952 Solo exhb., Galerie Beaux- Arts, London.
- 1953 Exhb., Rue St. Placide, Paris.
- 1953 Solo exhb., Galerie W. Gurlitt, Munich.
- 1953 Solo exhb., AIFACS, New Delhi.
- 1954 Exhb., Alliance Francaise, Bombay.
- 1954 Solo exhb., Galerie R. Duncan, Paris.
- 1955 Solo exhb., Galerie Marcel Bernheim, Paris.
- 1955 Retrospective (1945-55), under the patronage
of Congress for Cultural, paintings on `Geet Govinda`,
Sanskrit poem of XII century, Paris.
- 1956 `Images de Goa`, Galerie Prismes, Rue Monsieur
Le Prince, Paris.
- 1957 Exhb., Galerie Gurlitt, Munich.
- 1957 Exhb., Palais Dauphine, Paris.
- 1958 `Ramayana and Life of Mahatma Gandhi`, Galerie
de l` Alliance, Bombay and New Delhi.
COLLECTION
Ben & Abbey Grey Foundation, USA. New York Public
Library. Berlin Museum, Germany. Museum of Modern Art,
Paris. Madras Museum. Nagpur Museum. New York Library.
National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi. Punjab University
Museum.
AWARDS
1947 Received Mayo Medal. 1961,63 National Award, Lalit
Kala Akademi. 1972 National Award, Kangra Portraits
Show, New Delhi. 1985 Awarded Padma Shri, Govt. of India.
1987 Honored by Govt. of Goa. 1995 Nehru Award, Goa.
STYLE
Laxman Pais style was directly influenced by designs
he was commissioned to do for execution on porcelain.
He has a strong bent toward the lyrical, with emphasis
on a delicate and expressive line. He mixes the elements
of nature as plant forms and the female form is sensual
and graceful patterns, through lines. His experimentation
with abstraction was occasioned by his love for the
ragas performed on the sitar. He chose to give a visual
interpretation, through colour and variety of lines,
to the moods of the music as determined by the vibrations
of the notes. Thus his works speak of a visual poetry
with a happy blend of tradition and modernity, of reality,
of technical perfection and exuberance. Bright colours
and strong lines create an unsentimental lyricism in
the works of Pai. He did not like to use the terms like
symbol and fantasy to describe his works. In Paris,
he was influenced by the artists like Paul Klee and
Marc Chagall and worked with simplified angular forms
and vibrating
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
1947-51 Taught at J.J. School of Art, Bombay. 1977-87
Principal, Goa College of Art, Goa.
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