Portraying their very recent take on the time-honored epic tale Mahabharat, four eminent artists -Aditya Basak, Chandra Bhattacharjee, Jaya Ganguly and Samir Aich come together at Birla Academy of Art & Culture.
The exposition that focuses on representing The Mahabharat vis-à-vis the current reality, sets aside the opulent history. Here Jaya Ganguly built her paintings around her construal of incidents in the epic while Samir Aich saw himself as a strident warrior in Kurukshetra. For Aditya Basak, The Mahabharat was the world’s most egregious genocide whereas Chandra Bhattacharjee’s empathy was with the inevitable loneliness of the epic heroes. A special thematic score for this exhibition has been arranged by renowned composer Shri Debojyoti Mishra.
“I realised that the idiom and style of each artist would play a critical role in the composition of this exhibition. Their perceptive response to our shifting universe is evident in their oeuvres. Their feeling essays on the human condition have, over the years, carved out elevated spaces. This show celebrates the singular style of each artist in interpreting an epic we all share as Indians. These paintings are not straightforward narratives of events. While they are not be illustrative, viewers may still find all 18 eighteen episodes of The Mahabharat condensed in each work”, said Jyotirmoy Bhattacharya, Curator.
The exhibition will be spread across two venues. The large canvas paintings will be on display at the Birla Academy of Art & Culture from till November 17th. Simultaneously, a set of small format works will be exhibited at Gallery Charubashona in the Jogen Choudhury Centre for Arts from November 11th through 17.
