Alok Bal received his Fine Arts education at the Faculty of Fine Arts, M.S. University in Baroda. Early in his artistic journey, Bal drew inspiration from British Pop Art and its American equivalents, though he has since developed a distinctive personal style. Bal’s artwork explores humanity’s compulsive need to control and reshape the natural world—exemplified through images of topiary trees sculpted into artificial forms and ornamental gardens arranged around decorative fountains. Through irony and technical mastery, he captures both his attraction to and disappointment with urban life. His paintings employ serene color palettes, delicate floating figures, textural scratches, and realistically rendered details as recurring visual elements, woven together with remarkable skill to reveal his deeper psychological impulses. The interplay of colors and juxtaposed imagery creates compelling visual narratives that invite viewers to explore meanings beneath the surface. Bal constructs his foregrounds with lyrical sophistication that initially draws the viewer’s attention. However, once one moves beyond this initial layer into the middle and background elements, a more troubling world emerges—one defined by pretense and existential anxiety. He depicts a materialistic society that is corrupt, foolish, and theatrical, where people present themselves as monuments to their own ego and voyeuristic tendencies. This corrupt world, often ignored by society, is powerfully rendered by this dynamic artist. Rather than being driven by raw emotion, Bal presents a world where genuine feeling has become merely nostalgic memory. The artist continues to live and work in Baroda.
Alok Bal and Abir Pothi in Dialogue: Tuesday Talks Series
What drew you to visual art? Was there a moment or an influence?
Actually, it’s all we started from the beginning and from childhood. I had an interest in drawing and painting, because I was not that good in academic studies. I was much more into sports and art, you know, things like that. So, I don’t know how it started. It just started, my father was in a certain kind of organization. It’s a Communist party. So in my house, there were a lot of gatherings that always used to happen like meetings and political classes, discussions and debates and they actually used to do some kind of activities like making posters, for a kind of a protest. They went bowling, painted something on the wall and made leaflets or something like that. So from there, actually, that interest brought more because I became acquainted with color and brass and making figures and writing alphabets and also the thing I think from there. I belong to a small town in Odessa. So there was a small art school, it’s called sunflower Art school. So the teacher was a Punjabi guy. But at the same time, he used to draw and paint, and so I used to see them. I used to go to his classes, and I used to see them, with students and and see him also. So I think from there, the interest grows.
What are you creating right now? Any piece that’s consuming your thoughts lately?
Right now, actually, I’m working for several shows, upcoming shows. So I’m working for that. I’m working for my next solo project, at Sakshi Art Gallery, Mumbai, and also doing a couple of pieces for the Art fair. So it’s like that, it’s just happening right now.
Great. We are looking forward to those. So how do you connect with different mediums, like is there a particular medium that you find very difficult to deal with, and is there a particular medium you know, it’s just very easy for you to work with it.
All the mediums have their own difficulties and all that sort of thing. But I found watercolor is one of the most difficult mediums because you cannot control water like. It is always so, whether you are doing watercolor for many years, but still when you start, then you feel like you are doing it for the first time. That was a difficult medium for me. And for the rest of the medium, you just have to practice. You just have to try to be a master with those mediums. You know, if you enjoy the medium more, then you are more playful with it. Then you slowly will become the master of that medium.
So can you, can you tell us more about what inspires you to create such amazing works?
Everything. In fact, check everything the entire life. You know, it all inspired me every day. Everything happened, you know, from the sense from the morning to the evening, you are living your life. You are watching. You are observing people. You are observing yourself and doing a lot of stuff, you know, so whatever is happening around me, everything inspires me.
So I really observe everything. And very closely I ask questions and try to find out, actually the answer, you know, so a lot of dialog always happens between myself and with my surroundings. So, in fact, in that way everything inspires me. But mostly I’m much more interested in making landscapes because landscape is one of the most powerful subjects for me and one interesting subject for me.
When you make such beautiful landscapes, do you want the viewer to find meaning in your art or do you prefer giving hints or answers into it? How do you want other people to perceive your art?
I am working in my studio, it’s completely personal. And, you know, I don’t think about the viewer. I don’t think about anybody. It’s between me, my work and my painting or my ideas or my canvas. So, yeah, I try to involve myself. I try to create a dialogue between me and my work, my canvas, my studio and my surroundings.So I am not sure about it, but, yeah, sometimes people ask me also, like, you know what? What was the idea and all. And I also ask them what you find in my work and, how you will, how you like my work and how you don’t like my work. So it’s very interesting to listen to their opinion and their point of view of the, the, the painting which I, which is in front of us. Then I like to discuss with them their, my point of view. So, I would say it’s a very interesting conversation. Which I really like. But I never before doing my work, I never think about what kind of things people will like or how they perceive or see this work, I don’t think like that.
Yeah. That’s such true artist nature. I feel, you know, not thinking about how people will perceive it. They’re just producing works. How, since you said that your paintings, and your works are very personal to you, it’s just a dialog between you and yourself. How do you define your relationship with it has it changed over the years, or has it how has it evolved if it has evolved, can you can you just take us through it a bit?
Yeah, it keeps on changing. Actually, nothing is static, you know? Everything changes. Is that right? Right. So as artists, you know my way of expression is, so it depends on what kind of state of mind I have, what kind of experience I’m having every day. And also it keeps on changing. So I love that change actually. You know, I allow that to happen. So it is very interesting. And at the same time it is very difficult to find a new way of making something, so that struggle at that moment, that difficulty you have to face, it’s quite challenging. And I love that challenge. I love that thing. So it gives me, you know, creating more and more of this thing. It’s like that. So it’s always good.
That’s I think, I also believe in the fact that you should stop resisting the change that keeps coming in your practice. You should always go with the flow and just see where it takes you.
Exactly, that is what life is all about.
What does your creative process look like? Are there any rituals you like to follow or something like that while doing your work or in your art practice?
I come every day in the morning, from 7 to 12. I work in my studio in the morning. And in the evening from 9 to 12 or 9 to 1:00 or something, that is that routine. I always continue because you have to spend more and more time in the studio while you are creating something. When you are not working, then when it’s okay, then you are busy with some other thing. But when I have something in my mind and I have to work, then I have to follow a discipline. You know, to create something, come to the studio, sit there,start thinking and arranging everything. Well, according to your plan, you have to start then. Listening to beautiful music, having a good cup of chai and, you know, it’s the smell of the color and, and the energy which you have created in the studio. So,it all helps as an artist to create. I work in my studio. I don’t allow anybody to come, not even my dog. So I don’t want anybody’s presence, because it creates a disturbance. So only the music.
I could relate to you when you said that. Only music and a good cup of tea. That’s all you need to set the mood.
What keeps you busy when you are not creating?
There are three things. Keeps me busy when I’m not doing work. One is my daughter. The second one is my wife. And the third one is football.
Do you still play football?
I have my own club. We, I mean, we started, like friends. Football club. It’s called X Y Z Football Club Baroda. And in 2007 we started, x y z means anybody can come and anybody can play.
Lastly, what’s this one piece of advice you would offer to the young artists who are just starting out in the visual arts space?
My advice will be to believe in yourself and keep on working and keep on reading. Actually try to collect the information, try to collect the knowledge and try to find out what is happening around, you know, make friends, play, have fun and paint. Because painting is a luxury. It’s a luxury, right? You will not get this kind of luxury anywhere else. Painting is such freedom, right? I think it is one of the most luxurious things that I am doing. And once you realize that this is the one of the most luxury things you have, so have it. Enjoy. Enjoy your life. Basically.
Get it. Thank you so much for giving such an insightful interview but it was a great interview. Thank you so much.
Thank you. Thanks a lot.
Featuring Image Courtesy: Sakshi Art Gallery
To watch the full interview head to out YouTube Channel Art with Abir
Minerva is a visual artist and currently serves as a sub editor at Abir Pothi.
