S. H. Raza Quotes (1922-2016)

“Installations are usually very mediocre. These new ideas are alright to promote themselves but I think real promotion can be done if they make good paintings or good sculptures.”

“I didn't become a French painter or a European one. I remained an Indian painter through the years. That was always in my heart and I am very glad that I was able to come back here again."”

“Everyone sees for himself, the artist also sees for himself. Others see where ideas coincide, or whether they agree or disagree. There is no binding, no forcing of things. It has to be a free association of ideas.”

“Young painters are amazingly involved in their own research and are coming into their own personal perceptions. There is great hope for the future of art here. We will be the most vital art expression in the world.”

“As an Indian, I remained convinced that the bhav or the feeling of a painting is important, and these put together, can make a good artistic expression. This is what I tried to do during my years in France.”

“Indian contemporary artists have not come to this standard. So I feel happy that I could present something to them. My work has a different meaning and something like this has never been done by any other Indian artist.”

“It is normal that I have done something significant and so have other artists. I have taken my work in such a way that it has been a success. But that is not the only thing which matters you see...it's the work which matters.”

“Now, Indian contemporary art has come to a standard which is very serious and meaningful and it feels good that some of our artists are conducting their exhibitions in international cities. I was happy that this happened in London.”

“One doesn't look at the quality of work, they see how much it fetches, how it earns. That's a sad thing. Money is not the criteria of art. Art or love is not a question of money. One should perceive these things at a different level.”

“For me, Bindu is a point where I concentrate, my energy, my mind. It has become like Bhagvat Gita, Swadharm and all that. You have to fix your energy on one thing and not ten things. If you go to ten directions, it's distraction of energy. I think one woman is enough”

“Sometimes I start with very little and it grows. Sometimes it grows up to a thing, and doesn’t continue further or it does continue further, which I call vistaar, or expansion, or developing the same idea into space or intensity. There’s no hard or fast rule you see. It happens.”

“If you say Ram Ram Ram and Allah Allah Allah, you will get confused. So one god is enough. For me Bindu has never done the same thing. There is logic in every abstract form that I make. My work is like poetry and it should create a different atmosphere for the visitor. Poetry, literature and art seem simple but it is very difficult to understand it.”

“To draw and paint is an elementary thing, it has to be done. But it can be a mental process, intellectual process, thought process. *It is a question of temperament of each artist, there are abstract painters, figurative painters, painters who work in silence or who don’t want to work at all, but they continue with ideas in their mind and in their soul. It’s very fascinating; it’s a vast area without rules or regulations.”

“Well I spend my days reading, painting, thinking and meeting friends. It’s very pleasant. I’m studying Hindu thought, I’m studying Hindi poetry, my language is Hindi. I get up at 8 am… there’s no fixed routine… after 10 or 11 o’ clock my friends come and see me. A message has to be conveyed. It’s not only a question of doing research, what has to be done has to be conveyed to people so it’s interesting to see people who are interested in coming and finding out what I’ve been doing all these years.”