Where Science Meets Painting

With her collection of 1,100-plus paintings and 71 installations from 389 artists, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, CMD, Biocon, is an art connossieur. Her interest in painting started right from her school days. She kept her interest alive through college, mostly through rendering water colours. The interest turned into a passion during her early years of setting up Biocon. She bought her first artwork in 1982, a 36" X 36" oil on canvas by Yusuf Arakkal.

Her collection largely comprises figurative art, landscapes and still life. It also includes sculptures, bronze (especaially Chola), terracota and ceramics.

The collection includes the works of contemporary Scottish artists like George Devlin, Archie Forrest and James Fullarton. Among the Indian artists in her collection, her favourites are M.F. Husain, Manjit Bawa, Bikash Bhattacharya, Yusuf Arakkal, S.G. Vasudev, Sunil Das, Jatin Das, Paresh Maity, Jogen Chowdhury, Jamini Roy and many others. Her most treasured artwork is a Ganesh painting by M.F. Husain.