DHARMANARAYAN DASGUPTA

Born : 1939 - 1997

He was born in Tripura and was trained at Kala Bhavana, Visva-Bharati University, Santiniketan, from where he received his Diploma in Fine Arts in 1961.

His career in painting ran parallel to his teaching career. He joined St. Thomas School at Howrah in 1966 as an Art Teacher and remained there till 1979. In 1985, he joined the Faculty of Visual Arts at the Rabindra Bharati University, Calcutta, where he remained there till 1997 and also held the posts of Dean and Curator at the Rabindra Bharati University Museum, Calcutta.

By the late 1970s, he had evolved his own hallmark style where the primary medium was a special egg tempera on Canvas, which he applied using a mouth spray for finish. His distinctive artistic style evolved during the 1980s which he defined as a ‘kind of satire, fantasy and humour mixed with folk art’.

His painterly voyage was marked by an intimate understanding of human relationships, their pain and agony, joy and ecstasy, humour and wisdom. His art parodied the remnants of the Babu culture, a legacy from the British Raj.

As recurring motifs, a voluptuous woman, draped in a striped sari, and at times counter-balanced with a man similarly clad in dhoti and kurta, appeared in association with a flying tortoise, tiger, bird, flower or such objects as pots, vases or vintage cars, creating a very peculiar vision of human sensibility. The figures and objects appear to float in a mental space where the gravitational pull was at his mercy. They float, glide and crouch, underlining the varied levels of psychic exegesis.

He passed away in 1997 in Kolkata.

Exhibition

He did five solo exhibitions and participated in over fifty group shows, and participated in exhibitions organized by AIFACS and Bharat Bhavan Biennale at the national level. He also participated in international expositions held at Kuala Lampur, London, Cuba, Frankfurt and Manchester.

His artworks are held in several public and private collections in India and abroad.

Awards & Honours

1981 – Award from the Birla Academy of Art and Culture.

1989 – ‘Shiromani Puraskar‘ by Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata.

DHARMANARAYAN DASGUPTA Arts

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