Dr. Dattatreya Phadke

Dr. Dattatreya Phadke is a practicing physician (Histopathologist) and a fabric collage artist in Pune, India. He relocated from USA to India few years ago, after having spent over twenty years in the US and briefly in UK.

He is a self-taught fabric collage artist.

His fabric collages are a unique style, giving a paint free painting like effect. Thousands of scraps of fabric are his color palette. Many of the scraps are recycled from discarded fabric. His collages draw the viewer to come up close only to appreciate the intricacy and details that create them. They are vibrant, colorful, and representational pieces of art, inspired mostly from photos taken during travels. He also creates abstracts, an interpretation of his creative mind.

By placing fabrics over one another, Dattatreya creates depth, shadows, and highlights, giving the artwork a three-dimensional feel. Finally, he adds finishing touches - refining edges and balancing the composition with great attention to details. From a simple sketch to the final layered artwork, this journey turns ordinary fabric scraps into a complete visual story. For Dattatreya, fabric collage is not just art - it is a peaceful balance to his scientific profession, where creativity and precision come together to create something truly alive.