Tanmoy Samanta

Tanmoy Samanta

An indescribable simplicity pervades through the works of Tanmoy Samanta. This indescribability, in repetitive viewing makes these works a complex set of creative expressions. At times the onlooker is reminded of the drawings of Philip Guston. Like Guston, Tanmoy endows the works with some unexpected twists and twirls. A human head, which could be comprehended as simple as a human head suddenly grows into tubular features, shaking the ground of its visual security.

Tanmoy finds images from his surroundings. Whether it be a watermelon, an old car, a pot, an aircraft or a human head, he attributes certain qualities that are revealed only when the viewer is actively engaged with the work of art. As an artist Tanmoy’s formal techniques are developed from the traditional Japanese school of painting where linearity is maintained while not losing the rotundity of figures. However, Tanmoy does not seem to be too much involved in the perfecting of figures as he puts his creative energy in developing a field of enigmatic imageries.

Having trained in the illustrious Kalabhavana of Santiniketan, Tanmoy’s sensibilities are developed in a certain fashion that helps him to hold on to traditional materials for picture making, namely gouache, rice paper, pigments etc without aesthetic conflicts. Meanwhile, he does not fall back to the kind of Romanticism, which Santiniketan has an affinity for even today. Traditional materials do not deter him from talking on various socio-political issues.

Tanmoy enjoys in creating frozen narratives that allow multiple readings. The viewer is invited to come close, a demand for physical proximity as in the case of miniature paintings, and scrutinize the images with an active eye. Interestingly, Tanmoy does not bring in any autobiographical references in his works though he used to be considered as a child prodigy during his boyhood days.

Born in 1973 in West Bengal, Tanmoy obtained his BFA and MFA in Painting from Santiniketan. He lived in several cities like Kolkatta, Ahmedabad and Banaras before deciding to settle down in Delhi. He is a recipient of Pollock Krasner Foundation Award, New York. His solo shows held in New Delhi were super success. Soon Tanmoy will be participating in two ‘Three Persons Shows’ in New Delhi and Mumbai.