Akbar Padamsee's work spans the gamut of media from his traditional modernist leanings towards oil and acrylic to his more recent photography and computer generated graphic art. Born in Mumbai in 1928, Padamsee received a Diploma in Fine Arts from the Sir J.J. School of Art in 1949 and moved to Paris the same year. In 1965 he received the J.D. Rockefeller III Fellowship and worked as artist-in-residence at the Stout State University, Wisconsin. He moved back to India shortly thereafter, in 1967.
During 1969-70, Padamsee was awarded the prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru Fellowship and it was within this same period that he made four short films, one of which was 'SYZYGY' based on a set of his animated geometrical drawings, followed by 'Events in a Cloud Chamber'. A keen student of Sanskrit he is well versed with ancient vedic texts such as the Upanishads and draws from these various influences in his art. In 1997-98 he was awarded the Kalidas Samman, a civilian honour, by the Madhya Pradesh State Government. He has held several solo exhibitions throughout his long and illustrious career. He was invited to exhibit at the Venice Biennale-1953 & 55; 'Seven Indian Painters', Gallery One, London-1958; Sao Paulo Biennale, Brazil and Tokyo Biennale, Japan-1959; Gallery '63, New York-1963; Indian Triennale, Delhi-1968; 'India: Myth and Reality-Aspects of Modern Indian Art', Museum of Modern Art, Oxford-1981; 'Contemporary Indian Art', Festival of India, Royal Academy of Art, London-1982; 'Artistes Indiens en France', Foundation Nationale des Arts Graphiques et Plastiques, Paris-1985; Festival of India in U.S.S.R., Moscow-1987 and the 'National Exhibition of Contemporary Art', National Gallery of Modern Art, Delhi-1991. A retrospective showing of his works was organized by Art Heritage, in Delhi as well as in Mumbai in 1980. He also showed at 'Modern and Contemporary Paintings: One Hundred Years', London, 1996 and with Saffronart and Pundole Art Gallery in New York in both, 2001 and 2002.
Padamsee lives and works in Mumbai.