(b. 1946)
Born in 1946 in Maharashtra, Kolte studied painting at the Sir J.J. School of Art, where he later taught between 1972 and 1994. Kolte demonstrates a rare commitment to the abstract/modernist idiom in the face of current trends and fashions. For twenty-two years he taught at the Sir J.J. School of Art, which is in fact associated with abstraction, he cites Samant, Gaitonde and Ambadas as mentors and looks to Marathi literature, particularly the more contemporary poets and writers like Balachandra Nemade for conceptual guidance. Kolte’s early work owed much to Paul Klee, in terms of motif and also in thinking -‘Nature is not what you see, but what you don’t see; what you see is only the aftermath'. His work has been part of several solo shows and group exhibitions like ‘Art- Mosaic- celebration of Calcutta’s Tercentenary, Calcutta and Mumbai, 1990. Kolte also exhibited at ‘Six Indian Painters’ curated by Geeta Kapur at Toto grad, Yugoslavia, Ankara and Istanbul, 1985; ‘Three Artists’ Hong Kong, 1995 and Gallerie Foundation for Indian Artists, Amsterdam, 1996. Kolte lives and works in Mumbai.