Ram Singh Urveti (b. 1970; Dindori, Madhya Pradesh) is an artist working within the Jangarh Kalam tradition. Over a career spanning more than three decades, he has developed an intricate visual language shaped by Gond mythology, oral narratives and forest ecologies. His paintings are characterised by finely detailed organic forms, imagined landscapes and compositions that explore transformation, movement and the interconnectedness of life.
Rooted in the visual traditions of the Pardhan Gond community, Urveti’s practice brings together inherited storytelling systems and a distinctive visual sensibility. Through painting and drawing, he creates richly layered worlds inhabited by animals, plants, spirits and mythological beings, expanding the narrative possibilities of Gond visual expression.
His solo exhibitions include Ram Singh Urveti: An Exhibition of Paintings and Drawings at Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai (2001); Pratyay at Bharat Bhavan, Bhopal (2018); The Bewitching, Lyrical World of Ram Singh Urveti at Anokhi Garden, Mysore (2019); and Another Master: Ram Singh Urveti at Ojas Art, New Delhi (2024). Selected group exhibitions include Now That the Trees Have Spoken (Pundole Art Gallery, Mumbai, 2009), Eternelle Inde (Galerie Louis Gendre, France, 2017), Echoes of the Land (Sarmaya Arts Foundation x Ojas Art, 2022), Recap Illustration Biennale (Netherlands, 2023) and the India Art, Architecture & Design Biennale (New Delhi, 2023–24).
Urveti has also made significant contributions to illustrated publishing, co-authoring The Night Life of Trees (Tara Books, 2006), which received the Bologna Ragazzi Award in 2008 and authoring I Saw a Peacock with a Fiery Tail. His illustrations have appeared in publications including Sun and Moon (Tara Books) and Gondi Ramayana (Pradhan Geet Katha) (IGNCA, 2019).
His works are held in collections including Bharat Bhavan, Bhopal; the Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya, Bhopal; the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, New Delhi; Lalit Kala Akademi; Sarmaya Arts Foundation, Mumbai; Dakshinachitra Museum, Chennai; the Philadelphia Museum of Art, USA; and the Cavin-Morris Gallery Collection, New York. He has received several honours, including the Madhya Pradesh Shikhar Samman (2019), the Noma Concours Award (UNESCO, Tokyo, 2000), and the National Art Exhibition Award from Lalit Kala Akademi (1998).
