Born in 1939, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, Manu Parekh completed a Diploma in Drawing and Painting from J.J. School of Art, Mumbai,1962. His career spans across diversity of form and material. Parekh’s canvases consume hue, space and figuration. 

Parekh charted his career in an India that reflected great divisions and confluences; seeking solace in the metaphysical understandings, he reflects the conflict of this confluence, an India tied to its spiritual wealth. His character sketch draws the conundrum of subaltern subjects in a time defined by modernism that finds an equilibrium between ideological fantasy and the people’s vision. 

Best known for his Banaras series, he was fascinated by the mesmerizing architectural scape of the city. Parekh, in his narrative, tells us about an extraordinary life in the most quotidian manner.

Parekh held his first solo exhibition in Ahmedabad in 1968. In 1992, he was honoured with the Padma Shri by the Government of India.

The artist lives and works in Delhi, India.