108 Portraits of Indian Printmaking

One of the oldest techniques of mark-making and art, printmaking is a world with its own universe. In the Indian subcontinent, printmaking has had an unbroken tradition that can be traced back from the remains found in the Indus Valley to the present times, where printmaking continues to evolve and grow.

Early expressions of the art included individual mark-making such as lepai in which women used their hands to decorate their homes with natural pigments and forms that sprang from their respective imaginations. The fascinating journey of printmaking evolved over time through multiple techniques, from indigenous styles to serigraphy, woodcuts, linocuts, engravings, lithographs, and intaglio to modern screen-printing, 3D printing and LED UV printing.

The author traces the processes, as well as the trends through more recent times, including the nationalist art movement of the early twentieth century. The focus is on the Indian aesthetic in the art form and the modern masters and contemporary artists who have drawn attention to the beauty of printmaking as a creative genre.