| Chandra Bhattacharjee's
canvases are languid and far removed from the urban world. Dusky men and
women exist in an ethereal realm untouched by the madness of everyday city
life, carrying out their daily chores. Bhattacharjee's compositions are
influenced by the rural and tribal associations that he had an opportunity
to work with; particularly the 'Santhal' tribe of Calcutta. The textural
quality of his paintings is strongly reminiscent of the traditional mud
walls of these villages, smeared with cow-dung.
The colours in Bhattacharjee's paintings are
at once, subdued and vibrant. Warm pinks, full-bodied blues, interspersed
with blank areas, soothe the senses. He uses the technique of
crosshatching ( a method used more often in pencil drawing), in black,
over the colour; this adds depth to his colours. Bhattacharjee's paintings
tell a story, but it is story without a beginning or an end and it flows
seamlessly from the artist onto the surface of the canvas.The world of
Bhattacharjee's creation is without boundaries; where humans, animals and
surreal creatures coexist in harmony.
Bhattacharjee, although influenced by rural
and tribal themes, has a firm academic grounding. He has studied at the
Indian College of Art and Draftmanship, Calcutta. He received a gold medal
from the Rabindra Bharati University, Calcutta, in 1986. He has held
several group as well as solo exhibitions of his works in Delhi, Mumbai,
Bangalore, Chennai, Singapore,HongKong, New York, and Calcutta. |
