After Delhi, artist Shipra Bhattacharya's exhibition, In Bloom, arrives at Delhi

Artist Shipra Bhattacharya's 50 years of journey as an artist, and bringing all her artworks under one exhibition is no easy feat. Shipra's able-daughter Jonaki Bhattacharya does that with ease, not once but twice. In bloom, started its journey from Delhi, CCA, Bikaner House to Kolkata Centre for Creativity. Why did did she choose Delhi to be the first stop, we asked the Kolkata-based artist.

What Shipra Bhattacharya shares on her Kolkata show of In Bloom?

"Starting in Delhi allowed us to tap into a wider audience base and gain greater national visibility. Also, I hadn't had any show in Delhi for a decade, so it made me even more interested to have the first show of In Bloom there. You know I have also realised that Delhi audience are more interested for an art exhibition and a better understanding of art too on Kolkata," she informed.

The showcase at KCC will have around 86 paintings on display, one big and two small bronze sculptures, and five fibre sculptures.

The exhibition traces the evolution of her signature figuration, from early works that explore the solitude of urban women to later pieces that confront collective trauma. Her iconic motif of the woman on the terrace recurs throughout, symbolising imaginative freedom within the constraints of everyday reality. Yet, this introspective lens is not an escape—it is a form of witnessing. Works like Taposhi, which responds to the Singur tragedy, and War, a meditation on global conflict, reveal the artist’s fierce moral clarity and poetic resistance.

Among the standout works are monumental canvases such as Floating (2023), which offers a striking visual dialogue between lush botanical abundance and skeletal desolation, anchored by a central figure who bridges these opposing worlds with quiet grace. In He (2021), the male form becomes a palimpsest of urban memory, inscribed with miniature lives and poised at the edge of sea and city. People (2023) celebrates collective identity through dense figuration and chromatic richness, while Desire (2022) transforms longing into a mythic river that floods the urban subconscious. He (2023) reimagines masculinity as a nurturing vessel, and She (2023) internalises divine myth, presenting an archetypal feminine universe. She (2002) remains a lyrical cornerstone, portraying the female figure as cosmic consciousness poised between reality and imagination.

Further highlights include Kolkata (2016), which renders the city as a sentient, melancholic landscape steeped in memory; Floating (2020), a dreamlike meditation on vulnerability and care during a time of global suspension; and Gaj Yatra (2018), where the elephant procession becomes a vessel of feminine solidarity. Works like War (2014) and Stop War (2014) mark a bold shift toward visceral abstraction, confronting historical trauma and collective suffering. The iconic Desire (1998) distills longing into sculptural elegance, while Floating (2021–22) translates Bhattacharya’s painterly language into sculpture, wrapping fine-lined narratives around a fiberglass form that invites intimate, multi-angled viewing.

Exhibition preview: July 14, 6 pm

On till July 24, 11 am to 7 pm (Sunday closed)

Location: Kolkata Centre for Creativity, 777, Anandapur, EM Bypass, Kolkata: 700107

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