Exhibition
Sanjoy's metaphoric world in turquoise
Fayza Haq
Sanjoy Das' paintings at the recently ended exhibition, Metaphoric City, held at Zainul Gallery-2, deal with the complexities of urban life. "The city sometimes takes the shape of a book or even texture of the background of the paintings. I've taken the city as my subject as I feel I'm deeply attached to it," says Sanjoy.One of the paintings, Urban Life, has a huge open book with rats eating into the pages. The pages comprise of innumerable motifs of houses, done with the precision of an architect in blue, green and red. At the side of the book are a table lamp and a chair. The painting is a symbolic one, delineating the turbulent times the city has seen earlier. Another massive painting has countless transformers with tiny yellow bulbs. A golden eagle, strides the scene. The lines and geometrical shapes, in turquoise, green and blue, have been done neatly so that they appear like a careful setting for the bird. A woman is featured in another scene and city buildings are found all over her attire. In the drapery design is a curling snake devouring a frog. The woman's hair appears like a flowing river. This is, again, a dream sequence. An enormous cow is seen in a painting and in its eyeballs are reflections of the city, with its crowding houses. Below is a tiny racing cow, taken from the village. On the tablecloth in the painting Urban Life 03 are orange pattern of houses. The spilt water from a glass introduces a path. Three people are seen having their meal on the table, while a yellow cat leaps on the table. Through three windows the city, in startling red and pinks, is visible. A young man with a guitar is seen in front of a huge sliding glass window. A blonde Barbie doll in pink hangs from the window. Cars and houses cram the background done in shades of blue and green. Sanjoy has done his BFA and MFA from Visva-Bharati, Santiniketan. He has received two awards -- the Golden Bush Award (2006), and "chaya" Sree Award (2006), both in India. Sunjoy currently teaches at Santo Mariam University of Creative Technology.
|
An artwork by Sanjoy Das |