The Search for Thematically Sikh Art
I always keep my eye out online for Sikh art (visual art that is) because, to be quite honest, there is very little accessible Sikh art on the market – aside from the legendary Sobha Singh prints (available almost everywhere) 
and the works of lesser known artists displayed on Sikh calendars (the hallmarks of almost every Sikh-owned business) of course. Until recently, Sikh-themed art seemed to be limited to the afore mentioned. No longer! A number of artists have come out with Sikh-themed art and there are two that I would like to highlight in particular.
First is Kanwar Singh Dhillon, a Punjab-born Canadian whose works are themed around Sikh history. I was attracted by the detail in his art and was surprised to learn that he uses a rather unique medium – although his 
works look as if they are done in oil on canvas – his paintings are computer created and printed onto the canvas. Needless to say the product is still wonderful.
The other artist is Bhupinder Singh. I came across his art long before I knew who he was. I actually had the painting titled “Gurdwara Entrance” (pictured) as my desktop background for the longest time, and admired it every time I sat at my computer. It was only after I came across a second painting by him on flicker.com (which reminded me of the first) that I started poking about the net. His medium of choice is watercolor –making his work both unique and striking.
Please feel free to post your thoughts and about any cool works of art or artist that you know of. Note – I know there are other artists out there, but I chose to post about these two because they are new to me.
26 Responses to “The Search for Thematically Sikh Art”
Interesting post Singh. A nice change of pace as well. Thanks for sharing those two artists. Another one of my favorite is the very interestingly-spelled Arpana Caur. She has been featured on Sikhpoint and Sikh Foundations various calendars as well. To see a sample of her work, check out
http://www.sikhpoint.com/community/ArpanaCaur/Arp…
Interesting post Singh. A nice change of pace as well. Thanks for sharing those two artists. Another one of my favorite is the very interestingly-spelled Arpana Caur. She has been featured on Sikhpoint and Sikh Foundations various calendars as well. To see a sample of her work, check out
http://www.sikhpoint.com/community/ArpanaCaur/ArpanaCaur.php
Singh, this is a great post. As a community, we should definitely encourage these avenues of expression and support Sikh artists. I came across Bhupinder Singh’s work a while ago and thought it was magnificent…the Gurdwara Entrance piece is one of my favourites as is his Sunset at Keshgarh Sahib and Anandpur Sahib Night.
I’m sure there are many up and coming Sikh artists – we have to do a better job of providing them with a platform within our community to showcase their work.
Mewa Singh, The transliteration of "Kaur" to "Caur" or even "Cour" as I've seen it written is interesting and I've never come across any information of when or how this change occurred, so perhaps it is a personal/family choice as Arpana's mother Ajeet, a punjabi writer, also spells it similarly.
Singh, this is a great post. As a community, we should definitely encourage these avenues of expression and support Sikh artists. I came across Bhupinder Singh’s work a while ago and thought it was magnificent…the Gurdwara Entrance piece is one of my favourites as is his Sunset at Keshgarh Sahib and Anandpur Sahib Night.
I’m sure there are many up and coming Sikh artists – we have to do a better job of providing them with a platform within our community to showcase their work.
Mewa Singh, The transliteration of “Kaur” to “Caur” or even “Cour” as I’ve seen it written is interesting and I’ve never come across any information of when or how this change occurred, so perhaps it is a personal/family choice as Arpana’s mother Ajeet, a punjabi writer, also spells it similarly.
Great new artists to look out for! The Singh Twins have received a lot of press in both the Sikh and non-Sikh community and while their art has incredible depth to it, and I like it alot, I wonder why we haven't highlighted other Sikh artists with a similar hype.
Great new artists to look out for! The Singh Twins have received a lot of press in both the Sikh and non-Sikh community and while their art has incredible depth to it, and I like it alot, I wonder why we haven’t highlighted other Sikh artists with a similar hype.
Thanks guys, this is a great post =)
Thanks guys, this is a great post =)
Excellent post! Incidently I wrote about Bhupinder Singh back in March, last year in the following brief article (http://solarider.org/blog/?p=1518) in which I also mentioned another very talented Sikh artist – Gagandeep Singh.
His work is also worth checking out.
Excellent post! Incidently I wrote about Bhupinder Singh back in March, last year in the following brief article (http://solarider.org/blog/?p=1518) in which I also mentioned another very talented Sikh artist – Gagandeep Singh.
His work is also worth checking out.
Here´s active link to the article on artists Gagandeep Singh and Bhupinder Singh as mentioned in my previous comment.
[Obviously I should have done this in the first instance – apologies for not doing that – never did get the hang of these blog thingies ;p]
Here´s active link to the article on artists Gagandeep Singh and Bhupinder Singh as mentioned in my previous comment.
[Obviously I should have done this in the first instance – apologies for not doing that – never did get the hang of these blog thingies ;p]
Does anyone have any valid information about the role of Sikh art in the 'Guruship' period?
I use the term Guruship loosly to mean the period of Gurgaddi from Guru Nanak Dev Ji to Guru Gobind Singh Ji.
Does anyone have any valid information about the role of Sikh art in the ‘Guruship’ period?
I use the term Guruship loosly to mean the period of Gurgaddi from Guru Nanak Dev Ji to Guru Gobind Singh Ji.
Idiot, I believe there is an interesting overview offered in the book Sikh Art and Literature (Amazon link). It has been a very long time since I read it, but I think it discusses broadly Sikh art during the lives of the first 10 Gurus.
Idiot, I believe there is an interesting overview offered in the book Sikh Art and Literature (Amazon link). It has been a very long time since I read it, but I think it discusses broadly Sikh art during the lives of the first 10 Gurus.
Another great one discovered today on Sikhnet.com
Manmeet Kaur from the UK. Amazing usage of text and visual.
Another great one discovered today on Sikhnet.com
Manmeet Kaur from the UK. Amazing usage of text and visual.
[…] to promote Sikh arts, such as the classical kirtan tradition in Guru Granth Sahib’s ragas, visual expression (some examples were discussed on an earlier post), the art of gatka, and many more. However, still […]
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Thank you for your website
I made with photoshop backgrounds for myspace or youtube and even more
my backgrounds:http://tinyurl.com/5ajonc
take care and thank you again!
here's my work, guys:
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here’s my work, guys:
http://www.sikhiart.blogspot.com – WIPs and will take you to other completed work. feel free to leave comments or msg me
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Hi that were several great information. Despite im from germany and my english isnt that neat i was able to understand everything, so i like your english expressive style, because its so well structured and pleasing to read. Rock on like that!
Just came across your post and I completely agree on the lack of good paintings on the Sikh Culture. Through this initiative, I'm trying to do a bit. Lets see what comes of it. See http://sikhsart.wordpress.com