Chintan Upadhyay Age, Wife, Family, Biography

Bio/Wiki
Profession	Visual Artist
Physical Stats
Height (approx.)	5' 7" (170 cm)
Eye Colour	Black
Hair Colour	Salt & Pepper
Career
Awards	• Lalit Kala Akademi Award for Outstanding Painting in the annual exhibition thrice in 1995, 1996, and 1997 • 1996: Lalit Kala Akademi Award for Outstanding Painting in the South Central Zone Cultural Centre annual exhibition • 1998: Lalit Kala Akademi Award for Outstanding Drawing in a drawing exhibition • 2004: Charles Wallace Foundation Award for a residency in Bristol, UK • 2005: Charles Wallace Foundation Award for a residency in Bristol, UK
Personal Life
Date of Birth	18 August 1972 (Friday)
Age (as of 2024)	52 Years
Birthplace	Partapur, Rajasthan
Zodiac sign	Leo
Nationality	Indian
Hometown	Partapur, Rajasthan
College/University	The College/University Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Vadodara, Gujarat
Educational Qualification(s)	• BFA (1975) • MFA (1977)
Address	New Friends Colony, New Delhi, Delhi 110025
Controversy	• Accused for Harassment In 2013, Hema filed a case against her ex husband Chintan Upadhyay accusing him of harassing her. She claimed that he painted obscene sketches on the walls of their flat in Mumbai. She was represented by Haresh Bhambani. Hema lost the case on the grounds that Chintan's bedroom was his personal space. • Imprisoned for life for murdering his wife In 2015, Chintan was accused of murdering his ex wife Hema and her lawyer Haresh Bhambhani. On 11 December 2015,the bodies of his wife and her lawyer were found packed in cardboard cartons in Kandivali West. On 22 December 2015, Chintan was arrested by the Mumbai Police and was interrogatedLater, it was found that three more people who worked with Vidyadhar Rajbhar were convicted for committing the actual murder.. After the initial investigation, it was found that the victims were murdered at Fabrication worker Vidyadhar Rajbhar's warehouse. Vidyadhar had previously regularly worked with Chintan. [1]The Times of India In September 2021, Chintan was granted bail. In October 2023, Chintan was convicted for murder and was given a sentence of Life imprisonment under Section 120(B) (criminal conspiracy). It was found that the crime happened due to matrimonial and property dispute between the couple and the Lawyer was murdered only because he was present at the wrong place at wrong time.
Social Media	Facebook
Relationships & More
Marital Status	Divorced
Marriage Date	Year, 1998
Family
Wife/Spouse	Hema Upadhyay (m.1998 - div.2014) (deceased; visual artist)
Parents	Father- Vidhyasagar Upadhyay

Some Lesser Known Facts About Chintan Upadhyay

• While growing up in Rajasthan, Chintan was inspired by miniature paintings and worked on them.
• He was later introduced to styles of abstract expressionism by his father who was a teacher at the Rajasthan School of art, Jaipur and a member of the Takhman 28 group, a group of Experimental Artists of Rajasthan.
  

  Chintan Upadhyay’s childhood picture

• Later, Chintan moved to Vadodara as he feared that he would not be able to grow as an artist at the Jaipur School of Art.

• After he moved to Vadodara, he was highly influenced by the works of renowned Indian artists Gulam Sheikh and Bhupen Khakhar; however, he decided to create his own style of work.

• He was intrigued by the scope for meaningful juxtapositions, which analyzed the relationship between two contrasting things that are formed after they are placed together. Following his interest, he began experimenting with various still-life artworks.

• One of his earlier works included a telephone as a phallus which he described as a “representation intended to exemplify masculine consumerism.”

• While pursuing graduation, he met Hema, and in 1997, they moved to Mumbai. They got married to each other a year later.

• Later, he began practising caricature and he created a series of paintings with visual jokes and puns.

• Thereafter, he also created eerie images.

• According to him, he usually leaves his paintings incomplete as he believes “an unfinished painting suggests the possibility that the artist may return to complete the piece.”

• He often changes his painting style after working with a particular style for 4 or 5 paintings as he does not want to create a signature style for himself.

• Many art magazines and art critics described Chintan’s work as a transformation from “initial arrogant and erotic expressionism to market-friendly populism.”

• In 2002, Chintan gave an art exhibition titled ‘Baar Baar, Har Baar, Kitni Baar?,’ stating his opinions on the Gujarat riots at the Sarjan Art Gallery in Baroda. His performance included various drawings, petrol-blasted canvases, video projection, and a nude body artist (done by himself).
  

  Chintan Upadhyay performing in Gujarat for his Gujarat riots performance

• In 2003, Chintan Upadhyay started a rural art residency program, Sandarbh. Chintan started the program with his cousins Lochan and Yatin Upadhyay.

• In 2004, Chintan worked along with Hema and created a collaborative artwork titled ‘Made in China’ in the Viart in Delhi.
  

  A picture of the Made in China (2004) show at an art gallery in Delhi

• In 2007, Chintan’s artwork titled “Sorry Does Not Make Any Difference I” was auctioned for USD 91,000 at the auction house Christie’s New York in New York City, United States of America.

• Over the years, he switched from paintings to sculptures. His signature motif became baby heads. In 2009, he displayed his sculptures at the Jawahar Kala Kendra in Jaipur. He titled it “Iconic Shrine.”
  

  A picture of the Iconic shrine by Chintan

• His most known sculpture project is the Pet Shop project which involves the creation of a “model baby” for every season, known as the Baby fetish.
  

  Chintan Upadhyay posing with his scriptures

• In 2010, Chintan filed for divorce from Hema in a family court in Mumbai and it was finalized in 2014. He filed for divorce based on cruelty.

• During that time, he took a break from his work and travelled to various countries including Mexico, Germany, and Hungary.

• After he returned to the country, he moved to Delhi.

• In 2014, he was featured on the cover of The Times of India newspaper as a pregnant man in a house dress.
  

  Chintan Upadhyay on the cover of The Times of India

• He has addressed various social issues like female foeticide in Rajasthan through his performances.

• Chintan Upadhyay has performed various solo shows across the globe including Nature God at the Sakshi Gallery in Taipei, Mistake at the Aicon Gallery in London, and New Indians at the Galerie Natalie Seroussi in Paris.

• Upadhyay has participated in shows held at the National Gallery of Modern Art in Mumbai, India.