Born :
Education :
- 1975 : Awarded Dip. A.M. (First in Maharashtra), Mumbai
- 1974 : Awarded G.D. Art (Painting), Mumbai
Exhibitions :
- 2009 : Orchid Art Gallery, Mangalore
- 1999 : Grindlays Bank Gallery, Mumbai
- 1994 : Cultural Shows, Switzerland
- 1993, 1996, 2000, 2003, 2007, 2011 : Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai
- 1992 : Hotel Sea Rock Art Gallery, Mumbai
Group Shows :
- 2013 : Konkan Show, Mumbai
- 2012 : Chitra Kala Parishad, Bangalore
- 2012 : Birla Academy Gallery, Kolkata
- 2011 : Renaissance Gallery, Bangalore
- 2009 : India Art Gallery, Pune
- 2006, 2007 : Mumbai Groups Show, Art Mosaic, Singapore
- 2004 : Y. B. Chavan Gallery, Mumbai
- 2004 : Art Quest Gallery, Mumbai
- 1999 : Academy of Fine Arts Gallery, Kolkata
- 1997 : Nangia Art Gallery, Nagpur
- 1996 : Son - Et-Lumiere Art Gallery, Mumbai
- 1995, 1997, 1999 : Nehru Center Art Gallery, Mumbai
- 1994 : Mahalsha Art Gallery, Mumbai
- 1992, 2005 : Bajaj Art Gallery, Mumbai
- 1987, 1989, 1991,1994, 2005, 2015 : Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai
Awards and Achievements :
About the series : "Trikaal"
Vasai is not far away from the bustling metropolis of Mumbai. Not long ago it was a sleepy taluka, quaint seaside village with people articulate and industrious in their agriculture and fishing activities. They went about their daily lives seemingly untouched by the roar of city by their side. A harmonious co-existence marked their life, in perfect synchronization with nature around them. Fishing and farming which seemed to occupy the village, rendered it with its own rhythm. But not too long. Feeling the frenzy of the modern development and ever-expanding periphery of the city, Vasai too was inundated by the flood of metro living. The agricultural expanse and the resultant life were gradually consigned to the pages of the bygone.
Philip D Mello, with pseudonym Vasaiwala, who played with these environs reminisces the past and puts forward a visual argument to the modern development. With the distinct ethos that marked the community life, Philip tries to extract new meanings from the past, playing with archive of the past, loss of time and recall of memory. It is in no way attempt to turn archaic but root that leads back, to replenish us with wisdom of the past to address the perplexity of life. Very Few Indian artists address this with tenacity, the way Philip does. In about 12 solo exhibitions he explored these themes seamlessly, developing his own visual vocabulary. The metapours he uses in his works of art speak amply about the idyllic past and an attempt to relive it. The paintings are a timeless documents of a Koopari Community to which he belongs. The community lived modest rural life guided by traditional customs and deep-rooted social values. The Hindola (Swing), pair of buffaloes, coconut palms, basketful of banana, cap clad village men, attic of earthen pots are metapours for the age that slipped away.
The current exhibition, A page of My Diary is continuation of artist’s yearning for the past. Using a diary page with perforated edges renders it with personal yet historical narrative and a smooth blend of all this is resultant in incredibly rich water colours. An element of mysticism in his figurative narration does not miss attention. Endlessly repeating the themes have given Philip a distinct identity as the artist of the earth and all that is part of it. His boundless love to connect with time passed, holds mirror to his community. Therefore, Philip rightly comes across as the chronicler of the times and his work timeless.
Philips art trajectory is in fact an entry into the nostalgia. The modern world’s craze for gizmos and an almost impossible life of wired quagmire, such artistic glimpses offer an escape to the comfort zones of the past. This deep human yearning is always present in everyone and offers solace in times dilemmas of existence. Lost childhood, warmth of mother’s embrace, a favourite tree, an evening by the riverside, first love or first tastes refuse to leave till the end. Nostalgic impulse moves us reminding us with tad anger about the world that was and no longer is.
Change is constant but yet something needs to be constant - is Philip’s artistic statement. Edging closer to nature and the bygone his work offers an experience of a gentle walk in the village, full of vibrancy. Nothing is fully defined or even suggestive, or it may even elude interpretation. But the delicate charm and subtle beauty of the paintings, leave a feeling of something timeless, a record of the bygone from where the present stems and the future derives.
