Born in 1974, Jitish Kallat received his Bachelor’s degree in painting from Sir J.J. School of Art, Mumbai in 1996.

He chooses a method that is a very economical, nearly abstract , form of narrative. Images float around the protagonist, like icons on a computer screen, creating a webwork. The sources are "any visual material relevant to me." Images of the print media are photocopied, transferred on to the surface, hence 'real', as against the painted which he considers fictional. The images are like a picture puzzle, which the viewer has to decode and conclude upon. The treatment of the picture plane is like a battered wall, and refers to the duality in his painting.

The artist lives and works in Mumbai.