BENGAL BEYOND BOUNDARIES, an exhibition by AAKRITI ART GALLERY || BIKANER HOUSE 7TH-16TH JULY 2023
03-06-2023
Aakriti Art Gallery’s forthcoming exhibition in Delhi at the prestigious Bikaner House brings together the works of Bengal Masters both past and present in a show that will unveil works of about 100 artists. From sculptors to painters and printmakers Bengal Beyond Boundaries is curated by acclaimed art critic and curator Uma Nair.
The show has been conceptualised by the Bengal Master Jogen Chowdhury who believes that it is important to have an exhibition that brings together the revered late artists as well as present day Bengal art practitioners. Aakriti Art Gallery Founder and Director Vikram Bachhawat who has been a part of the gallery scene in Kolkata for more than 20 years believes that this show will be revisiting a layered and nuanced relationship between art practices of the past as well as present.
Bachhawat says: “ There are a number of senior practitioners in the Bengal firmament who have worked more than 40 to 50 years and have not reached the fame they deserve.This show corrects that error as we bring together a number of important artists who are known for the depth of their visual language and their dialogues with life.”
Curator Uma Nair states: “ Although not as well known as Jogen Chowdhury or Lalu Shaw , many of these Bengal masters like Pratha Pratim Deb, Aditya Basak, Tapas Konar, Amitava Dhar, Sunil De have all been artists who are ensconced within the studio and their own influences.
She adds: “Bengal Beyond Boundaries also has a collection of sculptures that orbits a space of dialogue, of influences formed through a wide range of experiences, and of foundational moments of lucidity for creating compositions that belong to life’s many experiences.”
In a series of bronzes as well as works on wood and ceramics there will be a slew of sculptures by Subrata Biswas, Akhil Chandra Das, Tapas Biswas, Asim Basu, and other sculptors.Subrata Biswas who is a Professor at Rabindra Bharati University is a sculptor who works in ceramics, wood, bronze as well as terracotta.Akhil Chandra Das also works both in wood as well as bronze.Tapas Biswas is known for his Benares Ghats.
According to Jogen Chowdhury, “ The Bengal artists and sculptors have a strong understanding of the human figure.Their understanding of anatomical precision as well as the commentaries associated with humans out of the lived experience makes their practice important as well as worthy of study.” Chowdhury, has recently collected Subrata Biswas’s terracotta figures from Aakriti Art Gallery and added it to his home collection.
The show will be unique for its abundance of the range of works in paintings, printmakers as well as sculptors. Aakriti Art Gallery has a long history in the documentation of publications as well as epic episodes of monographs brought out to support the art fraternity in Bengal.
The exhibition that runs from 7th to 16th July has a series of events interlinked. There will be an evening of talks by luminaries in the art field as well as a series of important films of famous masters and a series of curatorial walks by the curator for college students in Delhi.
