Mohan Samant studied Basholi miniature painting under M. Palsikar
in his early artistic endevours. In the 50s, Samant joined the
Progressive Artists' Group (PAG). While his fellow PAGs took
their inspiration predominately from Paris, Samant explored the
imagery of Egyptian funerary wall drawings, Ajanta murals and
Rajput miniatures, establishing a range of primeval images in his
work.
He describes his art as "almost like installation art; only
difference being that my installation is within my frame." His
paintings are primarily abstract, but retain figurative aspects
that often recreate mythic narratives. One of the most intriguing
aspects of Samant's paintings is his use of texture: manipulation
of paint materials with sand and glue in the early 1960's, paper
cutouts attached to the canvas in the 1970's and the application
of wire drawings in the 1980's.
