There is a Place in the Sun
‘ART IS SECULAR’ – that’s what intrigued author Amit Chaudhuri as he raised his voice against moral policing and the ‘non-secular’ assault on art in the visual arts faculty in Baroda, - brought out in the editorial page of The Telegraph on 20thMay. We, Kolkatans are awe-struck and baffled, and eventually expressed ourselves in the protest meet in front of the Academy of Fine Arts against saffron-isation of art and the usurping of the domain of art. The entire intelligentia stood by us in such a crisis. Speeches, letters to the editors’ and placards flocked the city.
Amidst all these the city of Kolkata witnessed the birth of ‘Gallery Kolkata’ at 41, Shakespear Sarani, with its inaugural show – ‘Modern to Contemporary’ (from 10th to 27th May). Tracing the trajectory of Indian art from modern to contemporary ‘is an ambitious project’ indeed, stated Manasij Majumder, in his catalogue note. But it becomes all the more necessary at the same time – and that’s what made Meghna Agarwala, its Director to curate such a massive show.
The works are categorized broadly under the decades, hinting at the characteristic feature of each genre. In the 50s, Subramanyan’s autonomous world peopled by figures and forms rendered with deft brushstrokes with an absence in logic of the pictorial plane – aimed at capturing modernism. The figurative idiom played a pivotal role during this time. During the 1960s, artists showed an inclination once again at tradition and modernism.
‘Each of them chose a core subject around which they would organize their perception of the world within and without,’ observes Mazumder . ‘Formal values’ that are ‘not entirely self-reflexive’ is what the canvas of Bijan Choudhury, Sunil Das, Jogen Chowdhury (drawing of man lying down with folded knees), T. Vaikuntham(his much known woman figure) among others reflect. Artists such as Suvaprasanna( a pair of crows ) , Partha Pratim Deb, Rini Dhumal and Wasim Kapoor who started their career during 1970s characterized by their expressive content , tonal and textural aspects.
The decade of the 80s marks the advent of the artists such as Samir Aich, Partha Shaw and Vasundhara Tewari Broota , whose canvases are characterized by the integration of formal elements into the figurative. One finds a reorientation of figurative idiom in their works. The next genre of artists such as George Martin , Rajiba Lochan Pani, Pappu Bardhan , Pampa Panwar, Pratul Dash and Binoy Varghese follow no art tradition. Theirs are ‘concept- specific identity’. The T.V. screen , newspapers, billboards , cartoons – once again all of these make the viewer recall Andy Warhol or Lichenstein. Flat bright colours , decorative elements, grand scale works nearing commercial proportions are what George Martin, Sajal Sarkar or Gautam Das are known for.
The catalogue deserves mention for its systematic documentation which many of the galleries in Kolkata lack But these apart, the gallery promises to organize art workshops, poetry sessions, film shows and book publishing in the near future – all of these together make it the first and foremost gallery to come up with such endeavours.
A retrospective almost always brings before us a number of different aspects that have so far remained in obscurity during the lifetime of a versatile genius. Despite being a teacher of print making in Shantiniketan, (which is nearly an imposition that cropped up as result of the introduction of ‘specialization’ in the fields of study), Somenath Hore continued to experiment in a number of other media: – print- and paper-making, sculpture and painting. A retrospective on him showcased by Gallerie’88 featured a number of his works including the much known ‘Wounds’ series created during the Vietnam War in a succession. A series of sculptures rendering stray dogs, helpless people and street children in the cirre-perdu process as well as in sheet- metals along with countless etchings, drawings were featured in the show.
The artists’ group ‘Esperance’ presented ‘Beyond the Frame’: an exclusive group exhibition of paintings and sculptures’ at the Academy of Fine Arts between 5th to 14th May. The show featured a wide range of contemporary artists based in Kolkata but most of who were born before the independence and yet some of who were born as early as the 1920s. It therefore allows a chance to see how these octogenarian painters and sculptors have evolved with the changing times. Amitabha Banerjee’s (b. 1928) ‘Spring’ renders a woman playing a ‘tanpura’ amidst a colourful wood. Bipin Goswami (b. 1934) and Biman B. Das’ (b. 1943) sculptures in bronze are renditions of two birds perching face to face and a bust of a woman, respectively.
Anita Chowdhury (b.1943) often draws in monochrome with exceedingly powerful lines. Her multi-coloured piece, depicting sailors, is thus a rare one. Partha Pratim Deb’s style seems to be a novelty. However, one still finds oneself caught up in a labyrinth looking for the latent ‘exclusivity ’mentioned in the title – for it is one of those vital elements which the show lacks. Almost all of these works can be found in any of the shows that the Academy features month after month. Artists such as Dwijen Gupta’s bust of a woman in ‘Love’s Mystery’, or Debabrata Chakrabarti’s bust of a woman juxtaposing the face of a deer lacking in detail and Dipti Chakrabarti’s depiction of almost the same style are consequences of the legendary ‘Indian style of painting’ which the Government College of Art and Craft still teaches.
Among the others were Sanatan Dinda’s painting ‘See Face to Face’ ( which reminds one of the post-Bikash Bhattacharya era of academic painting) is again a bust of a woman , but with a difference – Dinda uniquely treats his frame as the pictorial plane as well; Somenath Maity’s painting ‘ Structure’ reflects a different palette; Eelina Banik’s ‘Passion’, Manoj Mitra, Suhas Roy and Suman Roy’s portraitures, and sculptures by Uma Siddhant, Sarbari Roy Choudhury and Surajit Das are noteworthy.
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