It has been a while since I visited an art exhibition, which I did today, organized by Lake Club. I deliberately missed the inauguration at 6 pm by a famous contemporary Bengal artist, Shri Jogen Chowdhury. There were fifteen exhibitors in the two-day event.
I decided to walk around and meet the artists, a community greatly impacted by Covid pandemic and its aftermath. The resumption of normalcy had brought in cheers, but the art lovers digging into their pockets to procure canvases seemed far away, as disclosed by a few.
Navayug from Howrah are a group of six self-taught artists like Bappaditya Maji and Amar Naskar, and their display includes canvases in contemporary and modern art. There were a few frames in terracotta murals which were attractive. Sathi is another group. I spoke with Shankar Das, Chandan Ghosh, Chandan Bhardan and Mihir Kayal from the Govt College of Arts & Crafts or Rabindra Bharati University. Kolkata scenes with unmissable icons like the trams and Ambassador taxis were eye-catching, as were the semi-abstracts and sculptures.
Calcutta Painters is a significant professional group with eminent artists like Jogen Chowdhury. My talk with Subrata Ghosh was enlightening. Ghosh has travelled around the globe exhibiting his creations. He admitted that the art fraternity had suffered greatly due to the Covid pandemic. A few famous names sustained regardless, and artists creating to cater to the low-price market have survived the pandemic period. However, he lamented that newer and experimental art forms have suffered, which is the mainstay for the growth. The fine Tagore canvas was arresting, and so was the ten-headed horse by Rakesh Sadhak. I thought it could be Ravan and was corrected that it was Dasharatha, the ten manifestations of Vishnu. There were a few of Jogen Chowdhury’s signature frames, mostly line drawings.
G5 from Kankurgachi was with seven members, all professional artists, either from the Govt Arts College or elsewhere. While Dewashish Das had a touch of beautiful and serene spirituality in his works, be it Krishna or the cows, which seemed to be in strength. Was there an influence of Thota Vaikundam in the cows, I wondered! I spoke at length with Pradip Ghosh and the rest of the group, and the same pandemic’s gory dance had impoverished many like them, who are struggling to revive.
One point was clear: these art exhibitions were laudable but could have gotten the publicity they deserved. The government’s aggressive promotion of the performing arts was in sharp contrast to its promotion of creative and visual arts.
Learning that I was a blogger, many youthful artists assembled for a long chat, sometimes animated, debating as to creativity vs commercial art for the masses, the pros and cons and the compulsions under which an artist forsakes his imagination and settles down to the usual styles, which may be patronized by the common and sundry.
Despite the challenges, there were artists like Bappa Bhowmick, a three-decade-old artist, and Amit Debnath, who happened to reflect the future. Amit is an Asst Professor at the Government Art College and is deeply passionate about his work. He has set up an Art School in Haringhata, Nadia and is teaching various creative art forms to hundreds of students, spending his money.
Good paintings are soothing and must adorn the walls of every house. While the collectors pursue famous names, ordinary people look at the aesthetics and result in volume. In between lies another serious step, experimental art, which often is astounding but is under threat, at least for now, with none to sponsor.
Bengal has been and will always be a leader in creative arts, which must not be relegated to any lower level due to either government or public apathy. Kudos to Lake Club for organizing the Art Mela.
Sampath Kumar
Intrépide Voix
