Beyond the colours on canvas

Watercolours of five-Bengali artists make for the soul of the ongoing exhibition at Kalakriti Art Gallery. Art often grows based on personal experiences and therefore the title ‘Souls of Wide Walls’ was chosen as a way of looking at individual proclivities through the creative expression of these five maestros.

The exhibition showcases the recent and gives a glimpse of past works, which reflect years of hard work and efforts’ in different styles, but similar medium.

The five artists includeJogen Chowdhury, Sanjay Bhattacharya, Paresh Maity, Samir Mondal and Avijit Dutta. Artist Jogen Chowdhury is known for his ability to successfully marry traditional imagery with the zeitgeist of contemporary painting, in a skillful blend of an urbane self-awareness and a highly localised Bengali influence. His early works show an attention to figuration that carries through in his current pieces.

Artist Sanjay Bhattacharya’s involvement with the streets of Calcutta comes through on his artworks, and convey a story in themselves. Some of his works are most endearing and refreshing works on God’s Own Country.“Watercolours created in the flat mold with sinuous lines and curves are more for fun, to let creative juices flow, an attempt at a serious amalgam of words and lines in art,” says Sanjay Bhattacharya.

Another artist, Paresh Maity unveils the viewer with the opportunity to be led into a new invigorating experience of landscapes, essentially a representation of space that radically extends the possibilities of an aesthetic experience. Samir Mondal’s watercolours bring alive faces, landscapes, flowers, butterflies, animals – images that will haunt you, not for their apparent beauty but by their secret power.

His complete mastery over his medium, the way he makes the watercolours move and sway at his touch, the flow and confluence of colours, is the true sign of his genius. Samir is now part of the Global Watercolour Art Movement, his works are part of international art books and magazines.

Avijit Dutta’s life and art have always been intertwined and existed as a single entity. His curiosity to know the past lives of people and their lifestyle has always been profound, which gets reflected in his paintings repeatedly.

“I tried to bring forward all the existing taboos and experiences of the long-lost lives of people , which are somewhat intertwined with my present life,” he says. Since it’s a collection of his journey with these past life stories and its associated taboos hence it is titled‘My Private Museum’. The art show is on until July 31.