A series of paintings by artist Shuvaprasanna Bhattacharjee zoom in on characters from Mahabharata, especially their faces
A series of paintings by artist Shuvaprasanna Bhattacharjee. zooms in on the characters Mahabharataespecially their faces
Mahabharata It is a universal text. The stories hidden in its enormity have gone far beyond: from bedside stories to revised literature, its characters are found in essentially every aspect of the life of the Indian man. They are flawed, almost human. And this is one of the reasons why Kolkata-based artist Shubhaprasanna Bhattacharjee finds these characters attractive. In his latest series of works, Faces: A Race From Epic, which are now featured in Sarla’s art world, with faces playing the lead roles. These faces have unmistakable expressions that speak volumes of their diverse personalities.
The artist, who has been painting for over 60 years, is known to profile his home city Kolkata through charcoal-coloured frames that reflect its urban life and timeliness. In this series, he takes on a different animal. “In India, everyone is associated with epics. Since I’m working blind, these images keep coming back to me. For the past two to three years, I am very much associated with this epic,” says the artist, who remembers hearing his mother’s stories, as a young child Mahabharata,
His first interaction with the epic was through a Bengali text written by a writer named Parashurama. While he started out with larger canvases by playing elaborate scenes from the epic, his more recent work on characters’ faces, came together during the pandemic. “Each of them has a dual character, from Arjuna and Karna to Draupadi and Tilottama. It is full of jealousy, violence, revenge, love and sex. It is the same as life,” he continued. Peter Brooks’ Mahabharata There was an inspiration too, Shuvaprasanna says. The way the text was globalized by him, opened many avenues for the artist.
Faces: A Race From Epic | photo credit: special arrangement
The actual two-dimensional representation through the layered painting technique also includes characters that are not very popular: Lomesh, Dadhichi, Sauti, Kapil, Hoyagrib… Compared to their previous work, this particular series has a visual language that may May not be for everyone. like. “Take Shakuni for example. He is an advisor to the Kauravas, but is cunning. So its form, its color, etc. reflect that feeling. On the other hand, Karna always prayed to the Sun God, and hence his body was scorched. He was very generous, but at the same time very suspicious,” he says.
According to Shuvaprasanna, art has no meaning and yet it is full of meaning. There is also meaning in abstraction. He feels that this series embodies this statement. “When you start working, you don’t really know what will come out. But after you finish a task, you will have a kind of sensitivity that drives you to move forward.”
Faces: A Race from Epic is currently on display at Sarla’s Art World