Galleri Kaya’s ‘Masters & Prodigies’ explores contemporary graphic art in India
An exhibition, titled, “Masters & Prodigies” featuring the works of 34 eminent artists from India, is currently underway at Galleri Kaya, Uttara. Inaugurated on February 28, it focuses on contemporary graphic art and printmaking.
The featured artists in this exhibition are: M F Husain, Somnath Hore, S H Raza, Salil Sahani, Atul Dodiya, K G Subramanyan, Krishen Khanna, Amitabha Banerjee, Badri Narayan, Sakti Burman, Sanat Kar, Dipak Banerjee, Ganesh Haloi, Suhas Roy, Lalu Prasad Shaw, Jogen Chowdhury, Manu Parekh, Sunil Das, Niranjan Pradhan, Prabhakar Kolte, Sadhan Chakraborty, Aditya Basak, Monaj Mitra, Bimal Kundu, Manoj Dutta, Ajit Seal, Pradip Maitra, Chandra Bhattacharjee Pankaj Panwar, Ramendra Nath Kastha, Atin Basak, Partha Dasgupta, Swarup Basak and Jayanta Naskar.
"Throughout their lives, artists work with different mediums to portray their thoughts," shares Goutam Chakraborty, Director, Galleri Kaya. "This exhibition is an effort to feature such works, in an attempt to make art more participatory."
The exhibition features 67 artworks done on etching, lithograph, serigraph, silkscreen, woodcut print, intaglio, and wood engraving, including some historically significant pieces.
"Masters & Prodigies" is dedicated to the birth centenary of renowned sculptor and printmaker Somnath Hore (1921-2006). Born on April 13, 1921, in Chattogram, Bangladesh, his sketches, sculptures and prints reflected on several major historical issues and events of 20th century Bengal.
"Somnath Hore has an intimate link with Bangladesh by birth. On the occasion of his birth centenary, we took the opportunity to dedicate this exhibition to him," shares Goutam Chakraborty. "Two of his lithographs from 1969 are exhibited at the event."
To make art affordable to the masses, different versions and editions of artworks need to be introduced at large— this is one of the central goals of Galleri Kaya.
"Art does not really play a large role in our economic strength. So, this industry needs to be more affordable and accessible to people," expresses Goutam Chakraborty. "If multiple editions or variations of an artwork can be purchased, art will be more affordable."
According to Goutam Chakraborty, Bangladeshi art has to be popularised in different parts of the Indian subcontinent. "Our artistic activities are mostly centered on West Bengal, specifically Kolkata and Shantiniketan," he shares. "We need to expand more in the northern and southern parts of India to introduce people from other regions to our artists. Galleri Kaya aims to popularise Bangladesh's art in different parts of the world."
The exhibition, organised in partnership with Artitude, and sponsored by ADN Group, will be open every day from 11 am to 7:30 pm till March 16.