Sudhir Patwardhan is an Indian painter known for his empathetic portrayals of urban life, particularly the social fabric of Thane and Mumbai. Trained as a radiologist at the Armed Forces Medical College, Pune, he practiced medicine from 1975 to 2005 while simultaneously developing a significant artistic career. His works focus on the experiences of the working and emerging middle classes, reflecting a deep engagement with the realities of contemporary Indian society.

Patwardhan has held over fifteen solo exhibitions at venues including Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi; Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai; Gallerie 88, Kolkata; Guild Art Gallery, Mumbai; and Sakshi Gallery, Mumbai. A major retrospective, Walking Through Soul City, curated by Nancy Adajania, was presented at the National Gallery of Modern Art, Mumbai (2019–2020). His recent exhibitions include Fragments of Belonging at the inaugural Bengal Biennale and The Imaginary Institution of India at the Barbican Centre, London (2024).

His works are part of several prominent collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, New Delhi; the National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi and Mumbai; the Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi; the Jehangir Nicholson Collection, Mumbai; the Roopankar Museum, Bharat Bhavan, Bhopal; and the Peabody Essex Museum, USA. Monographs on his work include The Complicit Observer and The Crafting of Reality, both written by Ranjit Hoskote. Sudhir Patwardhan exhibited his work in “Posthumous Dialogues with Francis Newton Souza.”