The portrait of an artist

Bikash Bhattacharjee is seen as an arch modernist who made a very distinct contribution in painting that is often combine a naturalistic style with element of surreal to challenge the viewer. Bikash Bhattacharjee’s tireless commitment to illusionistic representation of experimental worldly object and conjuring up pictorial event and situation, as surrogates of those the phenomenal worlds. Using meticulous, sometime academic technique, he succeeded in enchanting and astounding viewers with his ability to convent ordinary visual facts into something extraordinary. The recent exhibition of his work dating from 1959 to 2000 at the CIMA Gallery had visual, philosophical and poetic content corresponded to certain social and intellectual trends, particularly between 1960s and ‘70s. Bhattacharjee’s work makes a constant call on the viewers to relinquish, at least temporarily, usual expectations of art and makes it possible to observe in silence. Silence may be use for awaiting an illumined vision of things, and it is to his vision that Bhattacharjee introduces us. An image such as ‘Wounded Family’ shows an artist in discord with the society in which he lived, yet too skeptical and critical to think his art could reform it. Nonetheless, many are the images – the ‘Dekha Nai Phire’ series in particular by which the audience might become aware of the falsehood behind conventions and be able to find a way back to the mysterious essence of things. The simplicity of Bhattacharjee’s oeuvre is clearly a suspect one. His painting was methodical, the unexpected in it never mere caprice. What the artist sought to achieve was controlled resonance without being obscure. His images are firmly rooted within a certain culture, sociological and political framework. The mood of the harsh doll image fraught with anxiety corresponds almost exactly with a period of great political turmoil and upheaval in Bengal. These hunting faces, with a hint of the oppressiveness of hallucinations about them stress the poetic image as conscious and visible, rather than symbolic or significant. These are spectacular images, works of dark and hypnotic power. The 1984 portrait of Indira Gandhi stood out very clearly. Even though somewhat idealised, it conveys great insight into psychological makeup of the subject. Elegant features realised in simple contours unveil great emotive content whilst achieving a great-romanticized notion of majesty. Bhattacharjee’s images of women convey great inner turmoil underneath almost placid exteriors. In ‘Stenographer’ the artist perfectly captures the balance between far and confidence, between desire and innocent. It is a trembling and personal portrait; there is strong feeling of being on the threshold of something of a discovery about to be made. The exhibition is a fitting tribute to Bhattcharjee and his work, brought together a set of diverse painting, entirely from private collection.

Mithun Pramanik