Protyusha Mitra's first solo, Casement, goes on show at Janus White Cube, Kolkata

Budding artist Protyusha Mitra attempts to tell stories of past in her first solo show, Casement
Protyusha Mitra's artwork, Almira and Bricks
Protyusha Mitra's artwork, Almira and Bricks

Windows open up a whole new world and tell you stories that set your mind ticking. Expect a lot of windows and more in budding artist Protyusha Mitra’s first solo exhibition, Casement, going on at Janus White Cube till April 21. The painter, who graduated from Kala Bhavana in Santiniketan and completed her Masters from Maharaj Sayajirao University in Baroda is specializing in wood engravings. You can get a glimpse of her grip on wood engravings at the exhibitions where all her paintings sit on wood engravings. The 25-year-old artist, who loves painting with enamel and acrylic colours have experimented with mixed media including wood, metal, and fabrics like laces to enhance her work.

<em>Artist Protyusha Mitra</em>
Artist Protyusha Mitra

Far removed from the dust and grime of the city, Protyusha was brought up amidst a lot of greenery. But the changing socio-economic and cultural fabric of the villages over the years has affected the artist in her deeply, which has unknowingly percolated into her work. “The basic idea of my work centres around this journey of change -- the continuous contradictions with the cohabiting objects or incidents. I’ve depicted these rapid changes without being critical and have juxtaposed the scenes from our past with the ‘new’ and the ‘artificial’,” tells the artist, who loves to explore different spaces, obstacles, motifs and designs in her paintings.

<em>Protyusha Mitra's artwork, Four Boxes</em>
Protyusha Mitra's artwork, Four Boxes

“Windows or suggestion of windows constantly came into my work as a metaphorical and in-between space of the two different worlds, which reflect the contrasts. Recently, I have been working on discarded pieces of wooden window panels. That was a conscious choice because the wooden windows of old and dilapidated houses have been on a journey of their own,” she says.

<em>Grille by Protyusha Mitra</em>
Grille by Protyusha Mitra

Protyusha believes that the scars, the rusty nail marks, the uncountable layers of colours are witnesses to the personal and social history. These window panels have all once been the pride of both grand mansions and humble dwellings. They are soaked in nostalgia and are markers of time travel. “These painted spaces can bring about a visual twist, a way to re-imagine the spaces before they change or be demolished,” she feels.

<em>Artist Protyusha Mitra's Panel with Metal Arch and Three Doors</em>
Artist Protyusha Mitra's Panel with Metal Arch and Three Doors

Architecture plays a salient role in her works. She uses discarded, decayed wooden pieces, which themselves carry history, often manipulated by man, to portray the gray cityscape and distortions of the natural view -- the continuous process of change and contrast.

<em>Artist Protyusha Mitra's Purple Panel</em>
Artist Protyusha Mitra's Purple Panel

 “Besides wood engravings, I have also kept a series of five pen and ink works on paper where I have worked with architectural motifs like grille and window designs that are manipulated in a way that each one tells you a visual story. But I have left it to the interpretation of the viewers,” says the young artist, who plans to develop this series further for her next show.

Protyusha Mitra’s first solo show, Casement is going on at Janus White Cube, 187 Park Street till April 21 from 2-7 pm

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