Kolkata's Art Exposure puts up twin displays of the informal Nandalal Bose and modern artists

The two-storey Art exposure gallery in Kolkata inaugurated two exhibitions simultaneously. while one is on the celebrated artist Nandalal Bose, the other showcases Indian modern artists. Indulge attended the opening and here’s why you must too.

The ‘informal’ Nandalal Bose

Nandalal Bose has many identities as a foremost creative talent of Bengal. Call him a student of Abanindranath tagore, a teacher at Santiniketan, a prolific artist, and whatnot, but not many have experienced the informal side of the Mastermoshai. At a time when delivering news back home wasn’t as fast as calling from your cell phone or sending voice notes, postcards were what kept families, friends, and other acquaintances emotionally connected. the exhibition, titled Nandalal Bose: Postcards & More, displays a set of hand-drawn postcards by the artist, reflecting how he employed various techniques, mediums, colours, imagery, and metaphorical ideologies.

These conveyed not only his health, well-being, and whereabouts, but also shed light on the socio-political and cultural aspects of the time when the postcards were sent. the exhibition covers almost two decades, 1930 to 1952, and displays postcards accessed from his daughter, Gauri Bhanja’s family. one needs to read the postcards minutely in order to understand them. while the purview of this exhibition limits the display to his artworks, those interested in knowledge beyond can access them through the gallery’s social media.

Unmissable postcards on display

Each postcard has a narrative and aesthetic seeped in an oldworld charm, but what really caught our eyes were a few unique ones. Most postcards are either proper letter cards or paper. But a rectangular oil painting of a man wearing a headband stood out prominently. Not only did it reflect the versatility of the artist who could easily adapt to any form, but also that he used oil, which was in contrast to his usual Indian/eastern/swadeshi techniques of art. however, that was to demonstrate the use of oil colours to a certain Chitranibha Chowdhury, a student in santiniketan.

Another striking aspect was a set of postcards from the Tak Duma Dum series featuring a jackal and a man. the original series was written by Jnanadanandini tagore, the wife of rabindranath tagore’s eldest brother, satyendranath tagore. It shows how Nandalal Bose used colours to illustrate postcards that would immediately spread a smile on anyone’s face.

Nandalal Bose also sketched several animal images of crocodile, hippopotamus, elephant, and camel. some of the postcards also feature common people going about their daily work, showing how observant Nandalal Bose was towards his surroundings. he picked up frames from everyday life and turned them into art. Media like ink and wash on paper and postcards, collage on paper or postcards, oil on canvas, pencil on paper, and colour pencil on paper diversified his field of work. these 27 postcards are not just a testament to Nandalal Bose’s brilliance but also nostalgia for the lost art of writing postcards or customising books or gifts with a little drawing or note, which made them all the more special for those who received them.

Modern artists on display

While Nandalal Bose was definitely one of the most important visionaries of Indian modern Art, there were several others whose names and works cannot be missed. thus, continuing the exhibition upstairs is the display titled Indian Modern Art, which is a curation of modern artists from the 20th century. Rather than focusing on a single artist, the exhibition displays works by several artists, showcasing the versatility of mediums and techniques.

The list of artists includes sakti Burman, Maqbool Fida hussain, Bikash Bhattacharjee, Jogen Chowdhury, Madhvi Parekh, Laxman Pai, Amrita sher-Gil, Kattingeri Krishna hebbar, somnath hore, Paresh Maity, Manu Parekh and many others.

Among the striking works were Maity’s Dawn, where the black silhouettes against the blood-red backdrop speak of a silent city waking up, or Sher-Gil’s Eminan, a work on watercolour and graphite on paper. The part-coloured and part-black-and-white canvas instantly draws your attention to the woman, the main character in the painting. Bikash Bhattacharjee’s wash, charcoal-and-conte on paper, draws you to the man without eyes and the presence of a woman’s silhouette is open to interpretations.

Nandalal Bose is on display till August 28 and Indian Modern Art till August 20. 11 am to 8 pm. At Art Exposure, Lake View Road.

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