There is only one word to describe senior artist Sudip Roy’s work: Lyrical. The music is inherent in his works. If you listen carefully, you can hear it. The mastery that Roy has over his idiom is so perfect, so aesthetic, that it is like taking a walk into a veritable garden where his “journey” then becomes yours — for that is what it is.

Aptly named Journey, his latest solo show traverses the path less traveled, as he makes you “see” with his mind’s view the meandering roads that he walked on.
The adage about everything being in a constant state of flux or transition being the only constant is as old as time. And that everything includes within its ambit — the physical, metaphysical, universal or even the spiritual. The paradoxical and concurrent existence of realities in this realm of transition is perhaps the very fount of creativity. Realities that like parallel lines might overlap the various stages of transition once in a while, but which have their own path and trajectory.
It is the study of this creativity that is apparent in the form of all art. And yet, the nebulousness of this dream-like state is not vague or veiled. Its inherent strength lies in its capacity to expand to envelop within its domain the intermediary manifestations of reality. Can realities that are fleeting be mirrored? Not as silent presences, but entities that leave an indelible impression on all that comes within its sphere and ambit. It is this indelibility then, which becomes the factor that impels change — not as a destination to be arrived at, but as a journey that passes through the entire gamut or prism of experiences.
Roy has attempted to capture this journey of creative impulses in his works. The form and content chosen by him is novel as he discovers newer paths to present the expressions that are layered where the forms and textures meld to create the whole rather than remaining separate entities. The quietitude of abstraction is heightened, as the courage to not get overwhelmed by space becomes apparent. His work is marked by a perceptive and sensitive insight into time as it passes us by or “stands still”.
Taking minimalism to new heights are Roy’s abstracts — so different from each other — and yet an interesting amalgam of perceiving reality and weaving it with dreams at the level of pure, unadulterated thought. The energetic masculinity of their expression at once captures the visual space as the stark minimalism of their canvases, offset by interplay of colour conduct a dialogue with the creation and the creator and still manages to envelop the onlooker into this very private space. Apart from the oils on canvas, he creates mixed media works using pastels, conte pencils, watercolours, and tempera as well. The colors are rich browns, warm ochres with an almost wistful quality that evoke a living, breathing reality.
Kolkata figures highly on Roy’s thematic list for most of his paintings are evocative of the decrepit, sepia-like images of the crumbling city. Be it the ramshackle haveli of a zamindar in north Calcutta or the sheer timelessness of a temple and what one sees beyond the windows in the ruins. These images have left a deep impression on the artist’s mind.
I am often critical of mixing figurative and abstract works in a show for they tend to distract, but in this show since this mix of works is of a single artist, they actually highlight how an artist can think and create on different planes. If art be the embodiment of the finer sensibilities, then it must perform its primary purpose of creating in the mind’s canvas a space and serenity in tune with the higher consciousness of the universe. And by definition, art must enrich and nourish the inherent creative impulse of both its creator and the beholder. If it has a single meaning, it must have a hundred meanings. It must unfold a spectrum of emotions like a veritable deluge that celebrates the pulsating life breath sans the cacophony of sound, but yet alleviates the senses with its pauses. And Roy’s art does just that.

Dr Alka Raghuvanshi is an art writer, curator and artist