Portrait of an Artist

“An artist in his studio is an image of solemn symmetry. The studio is a sacred space where stillness, solitude and movement exist in harmony. It is also a forbidding ascetic realm where creation is a struggle and rapture, a private conversation between the mind and the canvas,” says Rohit Chawla. This publication presents some of India’s iconic artists at work and play, photographed by Rohit Chawla for the book and an exhibition in waiting. A part of Chawla’s larger repertoire of creative masters from across the world, these quiet portraits capture the intimacy between photography and the art of painting and sculpture. Here, the artist is a work of art himself.

Accompanying Chawla into this private realm is yet another interloper: the author, Kishore Singh, who has known and interacted with these artists over the years as a curator and art historian. Singh unravels the unique relationship the artists have with their studio and work. Together, through the photographs and interviews, situating the artists in their studios, they capture a fleeting moment of truth that forms the subject of this book. For an artist’s studio is both a place of refuge away from the world and the world itself. It is here they overcome their fears and vulnerabilities and turn the inward gaze on what is precious to themselves—slowly, excitingly bringing art to life.

Rohit Chawla is an artist and thought leader whose lens has long captured the pulse of contemporary India. Celebrated as one of the country’s foremost photographers, his portfolio spans a rich tapestry of solo exhibitions and has earned international acclaim, including India’s first ever Industry Craft Gold Lion at Cannes in 2023, followed by Grand Prix honours at Spikes Asia and the Abbies in 2024. His most recent work and initiative at the recent Mahakumbh was awarded a Silver Lion at Cannes in July 2025. Chawla has worked previously in advertising for nearly two decades, and today he runs his own design and film production company. He recently joined NDTV as Creative Director. Kishore Singh is an author, curator, editor and columnist with several art exhibitions and accompanying books to his credit. He works as an independent arts consultant.