Buffalo Shows Bhavsar's Vibrant Pigment Art Legacy

The exhibition, titled Natvar Bhavsar: Free Yourself, opens at the Buffalo AKG Art Museum and UB Anderson Gallery, bringing together works from across the artist's career. Bhavsar, who was born in Gujarat and moved to New York in the 1960s, builds his canvases by scattering and layering dry pigment directly onto the surface, a process that echoes the color-throwing rituals of Holi and the vibrant rangoli patterns of Diwali.

The retrospective is organized around the artist's belief that color can evoke a sense of liberation. His large-scale works, often composed of dense fields of red, orange, and gold, invite viewers to lose themselves in the materiality of pigment. Curators note that the two-venue format allows for a fuller exploration of his evolution, from early experiments with acrylic to his signature use of loose powder.

The show also underscores the growing presence of Indian American artists in major US institutions. Buffalo AKG, one of the oldest public art museums in the country, has been expanding its collection of South Asian art, and this exhibition is part of a broader effort to present diasporic voices within the mainstream canon.

Bhavsar, now in his late 80s, continues to work from his studio in New York. The exhibition runs through early 2025, with a companion catalogue featuring essays by art historians and a conversation with the artist about his creative process and cultural influences.