Mahirwan Mamtani
Mahirwan Mamtani (* November 2, 1935 in Bhiria (Nawabshah) Sindh, India) is painter, graphic and multimedia artist.
Mamtani grew up in India, studied there and moved 1966 to Germany, where he had been awarded a scholarship by DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) to study painting at the Academy of Fine Arts Munich, Kunstakademie. Since that time he lives and works in and around Munich.
Early Years
Already at the age of six in Sindh, Mahirwan Mamtani began to paint, mainly with charcoal and chalks on walls . At the age of 12 ,due to the partition of India, in 1947 the family moved to Delhi. Because of miserable living conditions as a refugee, lying on sick bed he taught himself without proper schooling. He used to doodle with pencil or pastels on paper. However circumstances forced Mamtani to earn money doing several jobs and his urge to paint was suppressed due to lack of time and money. After some years of such conditions, loneliness and hard work at self-education, Mamtani besides his jobs started studying for Bachelor of Arts and then joined evening classes at the Fine Arts Department of Delhi College of Engineering(Delhi Polytechnic) to study painting. He obtained the National Diploma in 1962. In 1966 he was awarded a scholarship by DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) to study painting at the Munich Academy of Fine Arts Munich under Prof. Franz Nage. Since then he is living with his family in and around the Munich and Bavaria area.
Career
Already at the beginning of his studies, Mamtani was aware of Wassily Kandinsky, one of the groundbreakers of modernism, who had been searching for spiritual dimensions in art. For Mamtani it can go as far back as William Blake in the 18th century or extend to a German contemporary like Joseph Beuys, who was influenced by the Anthroposophy teachings of Rudolf Steiner.