.jpeg "Regal Fusion by Shri Kumar Adhikari | Painting")
.jpeg "Wired Nobility by Shri Kumar Adhikari | Painting")
About Shri Kumar Adhikari
In the world of Shri Kumar Adhikari, where Mughal miniatures meet the modern gaze. His paintings blend regal pasts with present-day life, inviting reflection on time, tradition, and technology.
In his world, time bends. A Mughal emperor scrolls through a smartphone; a queen lounges beside a laptop. The past doesn’t fade - it adapts, transforms, and continues to speak.
Born with a reverence for history and a vision tuned to the present, Adhikari has carved a space uniquely his own — one where the grace of Indian miniature painting meets the pulse of modern life.
Rooted in the visual traditions of Mughal and Rajasthani miniatures, Adhikari has trained his eye on detail, gesture, and symbolism. His grounding in traditional techniques gives his work a refined elegance — yet it is his imaginative departures that define him.
From early days, he found freedom not in breaking the rules, but in bending them gently — layering contemporary cues over classical forms.
Adhikari describes his art as “visual communication” — a language that transcends time and words. He believes that colours speak more honestly than sentences, that a two-dimensional surface can hold a thousand lifetimes if seen with the right eyes. His signature lies in contrast — not jarring, but poetic. He draws from the intricacy of Mughal miniatures: domed palaces, rich fabrics, serene expressions. But within this classical framework, he inserts the symbols of our century — smartphones, laptops, coffee mugs, conversations lit by Wi-Fi rather than candlelight.
Shri Kumar Adhikari’s paintings are more than visual stories — they’re cultural dialogues. They ask us to reimagine our relationship with heritage, to see the bridges between yesterday and today, and to find humour, grace, and insight in their intersections.
Academics
B.F.A. in Painting from Jamia Millia Islamia New Delhi 2011MFA in Painting from IGNOU New Delhi 2013
Awards and recognition
All India certificate award for the kalanand Art Contest 2018Prafulla Dahanukar Art Foundation Silver Medal Award 2017Award in Drawing 86th Annual All India Art Exhibition AIFACS 2013First Prize for Illustration of Prem Chand Stories 2008First prize in Cartoon competition In JMI University Delhi 2008
Collections
Baber Mahal Vilas – The Heritage Hotel, Kathmandu, NepalDepartment of Fine Art, IGNOU, Maidan Garhi, New Delhi
