Mangled limbs. Vividly painted images of severed fingers. A nude with a gash across its torso. Jogen Chowdhury’s works have always been reflective of the agony he feels. Be it his post-Partition days in Calcutta (he was born in Faridpur, present-day Bangladesh) or his period of study in Paris, Chowdhury admits that he has always been influenced by his environment. “My paintings reflect the situations around me and are motivated by social and political injustices.
Dark is part of my psyche,” he says. Gallery Art Exposure in Kolkata is presently showcasing Chowdhury’s works made during the pandemic. Titled ‘An Unfinished Poem’, the disturbing yet riveting images are a powerful comment on the recent history of our country. An octogenarian, Chowdhury’s imagination is still largely coloured by the memory of the small village in Bangladesh with its trees and temples. Coming from a family of zamindars, indulging in the annual Durga Puja festivities, community theatre performa
How the art world coped with 2020 Art is a cure for distressed times and art galleries in India put their best foot forward Anannya Sarkar | | Published 31.12.20, 11:37 PM
Art, like all other things in the year gone by, also took a blow to its gut but stood right back up on its feet to face this year with a multitude of weaponry in its arsenal virtual exhibitions, online viewing rooms and collective showcases being just a few of them. They say art is a cure for distressed times and art galleries in India put their best foot forward. We spoke to a few of them to know their thoughts about the year that was: