Profile:
Jogen Chowdhury was born on 16th February, 1939 in Dohapara village, Kotalipara region of East Bengal in undivided India. He comes from a Vedic Brahmin family who pursued the arts and Sanskrit literature. Jogen spent his childhood in rural tranquility. The violent partition was instrumental in destroying the illusion of tranquility. His family was uprooted from their rural roots and had to move to Kolkata. The first few days of living on Sealdah station was traumatic for young Jogen. His world slowly regained its beauty after he passed out of Government College of Art and Craft. He briefly worked as an art teacher in Howrah Government School. He joined the Weavers Service Centre, Kolkata for a brief period of time. In 1965, he received a scholarship to study at Ecole Des Beaux Arts. In 1966, he was awarded the Prix-le—France de la Jeune Peinture Paris.
The escalating violence around him made him sensitive to pain which often found expression through his works. He was trained in academic naturalism but he rebelled against strict form and structure while he was in Paris. His works gradually azquired the quality that it has today.
Education :
Government College of Art and Craft, Kolkata
Ecole-Des-Beaux Arts, Paris
William Hayters Atelier-17, Paris
Major Exhibitions:
'A Calligraphy of Touch and Gaze', presented by Kalakriti Art Gallery at ICIA, Mumbai, in 2008;
‘Abahoman: Flowing Life’ at Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi, in 2007.
Chowdhury has also had solo exhibitions at Gajah Gallery, Singapore; Gallerie Foundation for Indian Artists, Amsterdam; and the Fine Art Resource, Berlin.
Award
Prix le France de la Jeune Peinture in Paris, (1966)
He received an award at the Second Biennale of Havana, Cuba (1986).
He was presented the Kalidas Sanman by the Government of Madhya Pradesh in 2001.
Collection:
Various art collectors and galleries in India and abroad