Mapping the Soul of the Metropolis
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Sudhir Patwardhan’s ‘Cities: Built, Broken
Veteran artist Sudhir Patwardhan has long been recognised as a visual chronicler of urban life, capturing the human condition in India’s teeming cities through an empathetic lens. In his latest exhibition, Cities: Built, Broken, Patwardhan explores the fragile dualities of metropolitan life, revealing a cityscape shaped by resilience, inequity, and transformation.
Now 76, Patwardhan brings decades of lived experience and introspection to this compelling body of work. His practice is rooted in deep observation—particularly of the working-class communities that form the backbone of Mumbai, the city he has painted repeatedly over the years. For many, Patwardhan is not just an artist, but a documentarian—mapping the emotional and physical geographies of the city through paint, pencil, and canvas.
The exhibition, which opened at Vadehra Art Gallery in New Delhi, will soon travel to Tri Art and Culture in Kolkata (April 16 to June 29, 2025) and later to Durbar Hall Art Centre in Ernakulam, Kochi (September 6 to 30, 2025). Featuring over 75 recent works, it includes both large and intimate canvases, as well as drawings that reflect the many-layered experiences of urban India.
What distinguishes Cities: Built, Broken is its poignant portrayal of a metropolis stretched between growth and decay. Patwardhan deftly highlights the pressures of capitalist expansion—where gleaming glass towers rise over crumbling tenements and shrinking green spaces. Yet, these aren’t merely architectural studies. At the core of every painting is the human presence: men, women, and children navigating life amid concrete and chaos, often dwarfed by their surroundings but never fully erased.
Patwardhan’s longstanding engagement with social justice continues to underscore his work. His early years at Pune’s Armed Forces Medical College and later career as a practicing radiologist exposed him to the everyday struggles of ordinary citizens. These encounters have fuelled his artistic voice—one that speaks for the underrepresented without romanticising their hardship. In his urban tableaux, labourers are not anonymous silhouettes, but individuals rendered with care and clarity.
Though his brushstrokes are sometimes raw and expressive, the intention behind each piece is deliberate. The visuals do not merely capture what is seen, but what is felt: the fatigue of overburdened workers, the disorientation of a city in flux, and the quiet dignity of people who persist in the face of it all.
As Indian cities continue to transform—sometimes beyond recognition—Patwardhan’s work serves as both a meditation and a mirror. His paintings compel viewers to reconsider the cost of urban development, and to recognise the humanity behind the hustle. Whether through crowded commuter trains, isolated rooftops, or the skeletal structures of unfinished buildings, his compositions evoke a strong sense of place and time.
Cities: Built, Broken is more than an exhibition—it is an invitation to look closely at the everyday theatre of the city, to see the unseen, and to feel the pulse of a society in motion. With upcoming shows in Kolkata and Kochi, this collection ensures that Patwardhan’s powerful reflections continue to resonate across India’s ever-changing urban landscapes.
