After fIVe shows abroad, that includes Milan, Barcelona, London, Paris and Singapore, five young and upcoming contemporary artists from West Bengal are touring India to get a taste of the art market back home. Bengal Trail, as the travelling show is called, begun its Indian expedition with shows in Chennai and Bengaluru, has just finished its Mumbai edition in a two-day show on Saturday at the Viewing Room in Colaba and is ready to enthrall art critics and lovers in their next stoppages — Delhi and Kolkata — over the next three months.
The paintings have been selected very carefully with varied subjects and medium, and present a different vision of the world surrounding the five artists: Partha Sarthi Pan, Madhuchanda Majumder, Pradip Das, Debabrata Hazra and Subir Dey also had successful shows in Chennai and Bengaluru. While Partha Sarthi Pan’s canvasses bring a contemporary feel to mythical figures building a bridge between the past, present and future, Pradip Das draws his inspiration from primitive arts and depicts evolution of space and figures. Working in layers, he brings three dimensional effect to his colourful and vibrant abstracts.
Madhuchanda Majumder, on the other hand, paints contemporary landscapes creating beautiful textures with an original colour palette. Debabrata Hazra’s works express his concern for the environment by representing flora an fauna in contemporary compositions. Then there’s Subir Dey, whose watercolour paintings express his nostalgia about objects and places from his childhood.
Bengal Trail is also the first travelling show in India for the emerging art house Calcutta Arts Club. Founded in 2007 by an Indo-French couple Abhishek, Anais, CAC aspires to be an international arts forum, sharing across the globe creations from artists belonging to various cultures and backgrounds, and give them the attention they deserve. “Right now our focus is to create awareness about our organisation and the work that we are doing, and so far the response has been good,” says Abhishek.
And here, their Western experience has come very handy. “Normally, you see emerging artists showcasing there work only in the domestic market, and only once they are established that there work goes abroad. But here, our artists have already had successful shows abroad, in Europe and Singapore, and now, they are showcasing their work in India. This reverse-promotion mechanism has worked for us as a lot of art lovers, critics and patrons are showing interest in the artists and the show.”
But wasn’t introducing young artists to foreign markets first, and then bringing them home, a big risk, that too for an organisation who started just three years ago? “It was a big risk, but we were sure that the gamble would work for us. The galleries abroad were tired of showing expensive work from the same artists. Our show added a fresh look,” says the lawyer.
“It also opened the windows for us in India. We took emerging contemporary artists from India to Europe, and very soon we will be bringing emerging European artists’ work to India. The Indian shows are an extension of what started in Milan,” says Abhishek.