Jitish Kallat is an Indian artist who works in varied media. He was born in 1974 in Mumbai (Bombay). He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in painting from the Sir Jamsetjee Jeejebhoy School of Art in Mumbai in 1996.
Kallat's work incorporates varied media including painting, large-scale sculpture installations, photography, and video art. He employs a bold and vivid visual language that references both Asian and European artistic traditions, along with popular advertising imagery that fuels urban consumerism. Kallat regularly exploits images and materials chanced upon around Mumbai's sprawling metropolis, affording his works an inherent spontaneity and a handcrafted aesthetic. He unites these various media through themes that endure within Kallat's work, such as the relationship between the individual and the masses. He references his own personal experiences and those of Mumbai's other inhabitants. His work speaks of both the self and the collective, fluctuating between intimacy and monumentality, and characterized by contrasting themes of pain, hope and survival.
Kallat has been part of numerous museum exhibitions at venues including the Tate Modern, London; ZKM Museum, Karlsruhe, and the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo. He has participated extensively in biennial and triennials including The Guangzhou Triennial, China; The Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art, Australia, and The Gwangju Biennale in Korea, and has contributed to important group exhibitions throughout the world.
Jitish Kallat writes frequently on the subject of contemporary art. He is a trustee of the India Foundation for the Arts. Jitish Kallat is represented by Haunch of Venison, Arario Gallery, ArndtBerlin and Chemould Prescott Road.