The Quest for Truth and Beauty

Fishermen, watercolour, 2001.

Samarjit Roy Chowdhury highlights the joie de vivre and the picturesque aspects of rural existence. "Even in the drooping of a flower there is a beauty", says the artist. "Just as there is sunrise there is the following sunset, and one must accept all aspects of our existence while one is on the quest for 'truth and beauty'."

"I present the joys and festivities to capture the lively moments of the simple Bangladeshi", he adds, "there is wonder and poetry in the flitting birds and insects, just as there is hope and joy in the labouring tillers of the land who come for village festivities of buntings and merry-go-rounds. In their 'lungis' and amulets is a reflection of their sun-drenched days of 'mainas' and cuckoos."

Bride, oil pastel, 1972.

Samarjit was inspired by his teacher Guvenshar Chokroborty from Calcutta, his maternal uncle, Jyotindra Kar, a sculptor on wood and his mother who did fine embroidery, bringing in motifs of flora and fauna. At the Art College in Dhaka (now Fine Arts Institute, Dhaka University) he learnt from Zainul Abedin, Quamrul Hassan , Anwarul Huq , Mohammed Kibria and Safiuddin Ahmed. In those days there was limited access to the world outside, no internet or even books for research that students of today have the privilege of. However, as their number was limited there was great rapport between teachers and students and it was this unique friendship that played a great role in moulding an artist.

His subjects are taken from scenes around him. The diversity of colours of birds and trees have always fascinated him and have found expression his work. Figures of village women have also been part of his repertoire of folk motifs.  'Toilet ' done in 1972 in pastel, for instance, has a woman combing her hair before a mirror – clad in a blue sari, with shades of brown and pale blue in front and the back –framing the self-content female figure. The typical eastern shy bride covers her mouth with her blue and orange shaded sari with its highlight of white. The entire work is in cubes – the type one finds in the French Impressionists.

He blends what he sees around him with the folk motifs of Laksmi-shora and other forms of local painted pottery of rural Bangladesh. These are painted over with the primary colours of red, blue and yellow, which he introduces repeatedly in his paintings. Fishing nets also recur on his canvases as it is an integral part of our riverine existence. Samarjit's choice of  hues and lines have also been influenced by Picasso, Braque and Matisse.

'Fishermen' (2001) has aquiline featured men done in the manner of a sketch in black squiggles . It has geometrical patterns on three sides in blue, red and black.

His love for rural Bengal is manifested  also with kites, ferries -wheels and buntings combined in what appears like mosaic. He has glorified rural Bengal as much as SM Sultan or Shilpacharya Zainul Abedin. Like Qayyum Chowdury he too was fascinated by the skies, rivers, land and people of the village. His “Sunflower in Moon Light”. Oil, (1998) is a symphony of flower bursts  in white and yellow with the silver of the moonbeams pouring into the dark night.

Like most local painters of repute, his nostalgic youth matters much to him. His pictures are somewhat like that of Cezanne, impressionistic and cubistic.

Construction, gouache, 1995.

Like many other seasoned artists he began with the real and tangible and moved on to the abstract and semi- abstract. Like Michael Madhusudan Dutt, Sukumar Ray, and Jasimuddin, it was nature that beckoned him and the joys of the soil and rivers of Bengal. In his more recent paintings, he removed the village folk motifs and patterns and one saw an amalgamation of warm, earthy colours myths, depicting form and space in his first solo in 1990.

He says: “I always think of my environment – how it exists and how it is reflected in our minds. I love nature because it provides the essence of our work. I try to capture and present this essence that pleases an art lover. Pleasure makes a man healthy and helps expand one's mental well –being. Society deserves to find pleasure through drawings and paintings.”
Despite the fact that from the outset he gathered the patterns of fish, boat and human forms—which coexisted in rhythm with Nature, his work, over time, have gathered dynamism and momentum. His work is like a combination of rural work seen through a prism. Pure, raw colours like reds and greens blend well with orange and browns. His paintings are like a primitive dance of contentment and hope. His work has been described as poetry in tiny geometrical forms. One also finds drama along with his rhythmic expressions. His everyday description of rural life in Bengal remains lyrical.

Samarjit Roy Choudhury has exhibited in USA, Canada, Europe, India, Iran, Japan, Zimbabwe etc. He has had five solos and numerous group exhibitions.