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Kashmiri Indian painter and poet known for his tantric-inspired neo-tantric art, blending spiritual geometry with modernist abstraction.
Ghulam Rasool Santosh
- Known as G.R. Santosh
- Kashmiri Indian painter and poet
Ghulam Rasool Santosh (1929—1997) was one of the most celebrated Indian painters of the twentieth century, recognized as a leading figure in the Neo-Tantric art movement. Born in Srinagar, Kashmir, Santosh initially worked in a post-impressionist and expressionist style before undergoing a profound spiritual transformation in the late 1960s after visiting the Amarnath Cave shrine, which inspired his signature tantric visual language.
His mature works are characterized by luminous geometric compositions — circles, triangles, and biomorphic forms rendered in vibrant blues, purples, and golds — that evoke the union of Shiva and Shakti, the masculine and feminine principles of tantric cosmology. Santosh described his paintings as meditations on the cosmic play of creation, his canvases functioning as yantras (sacred diagrams) meant to draw the viewer into contemplative awareness.
He received the Padma Shri in 1977 and the National Award from the Lalit Kala Akademi. His work is held in major collections including the National Gallery of Modern Art in New Delhi and the Peabody Essex Museum.
