Advait Kolarkar

Advait Kolarkar is a gem and has already sold paintings worth $100,000 in far off Canada and the United States to stake a claim as a young achiever on a global scale. His world is wrapped around his water-based acrylic creations on canvas that has traveled and found patrons across the globe. After taking the art world by storm, with a radiant show at New York Art Expo, a solo stint in Canada, and now one of the few worldwide recipients of Global Child Prodigy Award, Advait Kolarkar has surpassed major milestones at the age of five.

He has been hailed as “prodigy” by The BBC and several global print and television outlets, making him one of the youngest artists worldwide. His work ethic and wondrous imagination have caught art lovers’ attention internationally, who are often thrilled to know that his instinctive journey began when he was just eight months old. His art tells a plethora of stories that spring from his vivid imagination. He won smiles through donations and at the Children’s Wish Foundation. The world has opened its arms to the young philanthropist, whose poly-chromatic carrier has started flourishing like an eternal spring.

The child, who took to colors when he was barely eight-month-old, has already had three solo exhibitions, including one at St John’s Canada, to his name and he was awarded as the youngest participant in New York Art Expo’s 40-year-old history. Advait’s hobby caught people’s eyes when his mother casually showed his pieces to the Art2Day gallery, a popular gallery in Pune. The curator wanted to have a glance at not just the work, but the whole process. His son, who visited marveled at the wonder and said he would observe the child for half a year, to see if his penchant for art continues. He was chosen from 15,000 participants across the world from 45 countries and was presented the ‘Global Child Prodigy’ award in the category of ‘Art’ on January 3, 2020 in presence of eminent people like Nobel Peace Prize awardee, Grammy awardees, Padma Vibhusan, and Padma Bhushan recipients along with Member of Parliaments and so on.

Advait lives with his parents, software engineer Amit Kolarkar and commercial artist Shruti Kolarkar, and his elder sister Swara in the suburbs of Pune, India. The walls of their house bear Advait’s creative flair that comes out in promising shapes. His fascination with art began when he was merely three months old. He would keenly gaze at black objects—wardrobes and curtains — an observation that soon turned into a demand. His first few paintings are poems in the motion of black strokes. Consequently, he took a fascination with art and would spend hours with his sister as she drew on papers. Being a preschooler he has enough time when it comes to painting and is successfully managing both his school routine and his passion in life, which is art and painting. The boy can tell apart 200 different shades. When asked why he paints, Advait responds, “I don’t know but, I feel like doing it every day.” His parents have been doing their bit to encourage him.

American artist Howard School, who was at Art expo to display his work at an exhibition for the first time, said that when he met Advait at the event, he felt a kinship with the young boy despite a 75-year age difference. “What Advait and I have in common is that we both started painting two years ago,” he said. “The difference is I’m 79 years old and he’s 4 years old.” 

With his wisdom and passion, Advait in his message to all his young friends said “There is a genius in every child; they just need to discover it. Do what you love the most and make it your dream. Discovering your talent early will help you achieve your best potential early on and will make your vision clear. Live your dream and do it with a lot of passion”.

On interviewing about his love for strokes and painting, he replies, “My style is spontaneous and instinctive. It is an abstract representation of my ideas. I enjoy finding new challenges to achieve my vision on canvas. I love to experiment with various tools and even fingers and hands.”

His art, tells a plethora of stories that spring from his vivid imagination. The world has opened its arms to the young lad, whose poly-chromatic carrier has started flourishing like an eternal spring. The little philanthropist is now headed to Italy to be part of its rich artistic worldview.