For Gopesh Chandra Chakravarty, the aesthetics of his surroundings, which progressed between political turmoil, can best be summed up between what the world calls grotesque and personal spiritual invocation. While the works of most of his contemporaries have been showcased multiple times, in a rare feat, G.C. Chakravarty’s works are being displayed at the Birla Academy of Art and Culture, Kolkata, by Mikumar Vyas, founder, Dwija Gallery, Rajkot.
Titled Stranger Forms: The Forgotten Art of G.C Chakravarty, this exhibition is one of the first major solo retrospectives of the artist who has been largely overlooked. The display is not just an introduction of his works to a modern audience but also a viewing of the repository of his contribution to Bengal modernism and 20th-century Indian art.
To understand the works of Chakravarty, it is important to understand his existential timeline. Born in 1905 in Sylhet, Chakravarty lived in a society moving towards Independence, partition, and even beyond. This lived experience is reflected in his works, which have deep historical undertones. His canvases, a result of his self-taught creativity, speak of the hardships encountered by the people, a reality which shifted overnight, leaving a hard-hitting aftermath and spiritual enquiry. If one were to look at them, they would find figures or landscapes amidst the deeply unsettling aura that makes one stand in front of it and introspect with time.
The exhibition consists of paintings, drawings, illustrations, and archival material that not only speak of an era gone by but of eminent concerns around identity, history, and human conditions that still cloud society today. If one is to go over his works chronologically, the earliest ones depict a fascination towards mystical dimensions of existence, while the latter are about the social conditions encompassing famine, communal violence, displacement, migration, and politics. Figures are fragmented and distorted, as a frame dipped in the fine line between dreams and nightmares. This also allows him to depict the psychological tensions where grotesque acts serve as a critique of the then-societal issues.
Quite interestingly, while during his lifetime Chakravarty displayed his works alongside contemporaries like Jamini Roy, Gopal Ghose, D.P Chowdhury, and others, yet, his works receded from the public eye as the years passed. However, his body of work forms a very important narrative that goes beyond Indian modernism. Another facet about Chakravarty is that, beyond his reputation as an artist, he has worked extensively as an educator and activist. His travels across the North-east and Uttar Pradesh became an eye-opener to the wider concerns of a society in turmoil. This also connected him closely with the people beyond the metropolitan art circles, which in turn gave him wide exposure to art, society, and culture beyond the middle-class or urban elites.
On display at Birla Academy of Art and Culture till June 28, 2026
For more updates, join/follow our WhatsApp, Telegram and YouTube channels.