The art of Suhas Tavkar shows a unique relationship between
the human form and the human touch that created it….

Since his childhood Suhas was always thinking that our universe is the God's largest art Gallery with display of big and small moving planets. To see this exhibit during the day the God has created Sunlight and at night God has created Moonlight. So far our living planet earth is one of the nature's greatest and the best art piece, (until we discover another living planet like earth). Our earth's oceans are God's created largest and mysterious aquariums in the living world where you see real artistic creations in the light or in the dark deep blue sea.
  
Here is a brief background on the artist: Suhas Tavkar was born in 1942 and raised in Mumbai (Bombay), India. He was exposed to the art of fingernail embossing as a child by his father Anant who in turn, learned it from his father. As a teenager, Suhas would entertain his friends by embossing their names in calligraphy in both Marathi, his native language, and in English. Using any ordinary paper or even metal foil from cigarette boxes, he would emboss their names with just his fingernails, no other tools.
  
Since graduating from the J.J. School of Arts in Commercial art, Bombay (Mumbai) he was working for UNITED STATES INFORMATION SERVECE (USIS) Bombay as their exhibition coordinator for about 10 years, and after immigrating to the U.S. in 1977, Suhas focused more on his career as a graphic artist. He started his own Graphic Production Studio in mid-Manhattan in 1980, which he closed in 1988. In 1992, he joined Grey Worldwide and he was working there as a successful graphic artist until May 2007.
  
"NakhaChitra" is one of the World's rarest art forms. Embossing by hand allows Suhas to produce the most intricate and truly unique embossed designs on paper or thin metal. Yet, as he says, his work is a "daunting, irksome and painful" fine art of Bas-Relief. Each fingernail relief drawing takes tremendous concentration and precise hand-eye coordination. But the beauty of the art is that each work is an original, a one-of-a-kind piece of artwork. With this technique, if a single line or impression fails to satisfy him, it cannot be undone; it is permanent. In other words, the whole piece has to begin anew.
  
Suhas would like to educate people about this unknown art form, which still exists even today. He thinks humans may have started this art form at the beginning of the human race through etchings on the soft wooden tree bark or on the large soft banana and lotus leaves using their fingernails as tools. Art and writing using one's fingernails may have started long time ago, (There is reference in the 4th century AD Kalidasa period that Shakoontala wrote love letter to her lover Dushnata on the lotus leaf with her fingernail) with fingernail embossing perhaps started beginning when humans started to make paper. It seems that this has really become a lost art form. In the history of art no one has ever mentioned the art of "NakhaChitra" (Nakha means fingernail and Chitra means art in Sanskrit language of the Hindus). But, I believe it is an art form that needs to admired and promoted. He describes himself as a unique and gifted artist who can create fine sculptural art without using any artistic materials or tools, just his very own fingernails. With these God's given natural tools that are literally at one's own fingertips, he believes
" Every living creature on earth is an artist and also a wonderful piece of art by itself..."
  
Awards/ Exhibitions

• 1987 Metro Art International Art Competition in NY
  Metro Art, Art 54 Gallery. Winner Certificate of Excellence in Miniature art.
• 1992-93 Individual Artist Showcase, main public library in Queens
• 1996 NY State Ballet Gallery at Lincoln Center, solo show
• 1997 The Museum of Natural History, group show
• June 2007 New York Public Library, Donnell Center (across from MOMA), solo show and live demonstration
• December 2007 SOHO20/Chelsea gallery "Small Works " group show
• First place winner of Curators' Choice Award December 2007 Barebrush.com

For samples of Suhas Tavkar's artwork, please visit: www.nakhachitra.com
www.absolutearts.com/portfolios/s/suhas, www.barebrush.com,