Bhajju Shyam (b. 1971; Patangarh, Madhya Pradesh) is one of India’s foremost artists working within the Gond painting tradition. Born into the Pardhan Gond community, he trained under the pioneering artist Jangarh Singh Shyam, whose vision transformed customary painting practices into a globally recognised contemporary artistic movement. Over the course of his career, Bhajju has developed a distinctive visual language that has been exhibited extensively across India, Europe, North America, and Asia.
His internationally acclaimed book The London Jungle Book (2004) is a celebrated visual travelogue inspired by his first visit to London and remains a landmark publication in contemporary indigenous art. He has illustrated and contributed to more than 20 books, bringing Gond storytelling and visual narratives to audiences worldwide.
Bhajju received the Master Artist Ojas Art Award in 2015, and Ojas Art presented his first solo exhibition in India in 2016. He subsequently held solo exhibitions in Canada (2017) and at Bonhams, Hong Kong (2018). In the same year, he was awarded the Padma Shri (2018), one of India’s highest civilian honours. In 2019, Bharat Bhavan, Bhopal, organised a semi-retrospective of his work, while his collaboration with the St+Art India Foundation resulted in the landmark mural at Delhi’s Lodhi Art District. In 2021, he co-created the large-scale public mural Dancing in Unison in Singapore’s Little India precinct, further expanding his practice into the realm of public art.
Recent years have seen Bhajju’s continued international recognition through acclaimed solo exhibitions, including Untitled at Ojas Art (2022), UNINHIBITED at Ojas Art, New Delhi (2023), and the Bhajju Shyam KYOTO exhibition series at Kyoto’s UNESCO World Heritage site Tō-ji Temple (2023, 2025). In 2026, his autobiographical illustrated book MORIBITO: The Keeper of Memories was published in Japan, accompanied by a major exhibition celebrating his work.
Deeply rooted in Gond cosmology while embracing contemporary forms, publishing, and public art, Bhajju Shyam continues to expand the visual language of the Gond painting tradition, bringing its stories, symbols, and philosophical perspectives into dialogue with global audiences.
