solo art exhibition, gallerie kaya september 27-october 11, 2013 a glimpse into the mind
Goutam Chakraborty’s work occupies a precarious position between traditional folk art and modern surrealism. This unique blend of influences gives his work its own distinct identity and sets it apart from other interpretations of the themes and symbols he employs. Chakraborty’s solo art exhibition “I am” at Gallerie Kaya featured paintings with oil, charcoal and watercolours as well as drawings and serigraph prints. It was not only an important show in this artist’s career – his first in more than a decade – it was also one of the best Bangladeshi contemporary art exhibitions of the year.
Though known as a master of miniatures and watercolours for much of his career, Goutam Chakraborty ventures into the wide open world of large canvases in “I am”. He does this with gusto, painting in bright colours that pop and grab the viewer’s attention. Familiar characters from the artist’s past works return here – the elephant and its rolling trunk, the cat splayed out on the canvas, the poet looking out into the world and into his soul and the compassionate nun moving from frame to frame in a ghostly white sari. Elements of his art may be rooted in folk themes but when reinterpreted through Goutam Chakrabarty’s lens they take on a character of their own.
The elephant seems to represent strength and power while the sleeping cats suggest tranquillity or perhaps even complacence. His Tagore and Teresa paintings could be said to symbolize creativity and humanity. Tagore appears pensive, his eyes and mouth shrouded by hair that hangs like tendrils. Mother Teresa’s iconic sari is wrapped around a faceless figure. By isolating the garment from its wearer could the artist have been asking the viewer to place himself in the frame as the subject, to carry on in her stead? His Moon Woman and Bride paintings render female bodies in alien colours. Their skin is smooth, almost porcelain-like, giving off a subtle sheen where the light touches them.
Perhaps the most interesting of these works are the angry cat series, depicted using a variety of mediums though the charcoal seems to be the most striking. The cat bares its fangs and claws at the viewer, appearing monstrous. When done using charcoal it looks like a creature born of darkness and poised to strike. In serigraph, the effect is somewhat muted, the bright colours belying the terrible threat it poses. The cat in both its docile and aggressive states seems to represent the self and its varying moods, quiet and peaceful at one moment and furious the next.
The title of Goutam Chakraborty’s exhibition seems to be an admission of sorts of the personal nature of the works. It imbues the art displayed at this exhibition with an almost confessional quality, as though the artist is baring his soul to the viewer, or more accurately, giving his audience a rare and frank glimpse into his mind.
Goutam Chakraborty’s work occupies a precarious position between traditional folk art and modern surrealism. This unique blend of influences gives his work its own distinct identity and sets it apart from other interpretations of the themes and symbols he employs. Chakraborty’s solo art exhibition “I am” at Gallerie Kaya featured paintings with oil, charcoal and…