Shuvaprasanna: A Man for all Seasons attempts to bring together the complete oeuvre of the versatile modern Indian artist Shuvaprasanna Bhattacharya, in a single volume. The book also traces his life and career and the significant events that shaped his artistic sensibilities.
This volume features Shuvaprasanna's multifaceted work, be it painting, drawing, portraiture, printmaking, illustrations, installations, sculpture and murals, through his artistic timeline, and his contributions as a socio-political activist in building cultural institutions. Shuva-da, as he is popularly known, was actively involved with the Calcutta Painters Group in the 1970s; he founded the College of Visual Arts in 1975 and thereafter the vibrant and internationally known ArtsAcre Foundation in 2008.
The in-depth textual description of the artist's creative evolution is accompanied by images of over 80 of Shuvaprasanna's impactful artworks from different phases of his career, including paintings of the city of Kolkata, to his signature charcoal drawings of birds, to his latest collection, 'The Mystique of the Epic', which comprises striking depictions of characters and episodes from the Mahabharata.
Through her interpretive commentary the author shows that Shuvaprasanna's articulation about culture, his insatiable child-like curiosity, fascination with the 'City of Joy', impressive warm persona and inquisitive mind, make him a man for all seasons. This book would be of interest to art lovers, students of modern Indian art and the general reader with a penchant for creativity.
Sushma K Bahl, MBE, is an independent arts advisor, writer and curator; formerly, Head, Arts & Culture, British Council India. She is the author of 5000 Years of Indian Art, Forms of Devotion, Aadi Anant and Moulded Magic: Sculpture on a Bench. She has also written books on some renowned artists, including Thota Vaikuntam, Paresh Maity, Satish Gupta, Shuvaprasanna and Rini Dhumal.
Sushma is credited for spearheading several cultural projects including the Festival of India held in the UK (1982) and South Korea (2005). Sushma has been an advisory panel member of a select few cultural and educational institutions in India and abroad, including Florence Biennale International in Italy and National Gallery of Modern Art in Delhi. She is currently a member of Paris based International Association of Art Critics (AICA), consulting curator for the Museum of Sacred Art Foundation in Belgium, on the advisory committee for Harjai Global Gurukul in Mumbai and ArtsAcre Foundation in Kolkata, besides others.
This book is a splendid revelation of Shuvaprasanna Bhattacharya's art. To many, he comes across as a maverick, speaking his mind and calling a spade a spade! But behind his apparent bravado there hides a child that looks upon Kolkata with great love and wonder, allowing the city's landscape to figure prominently in his work the various themes coming together from a space of personal vulnerability and passion that makes every canvas painted by him memorable. However, in this Foreword I wish to dwell upon my personal relationship with Shuva-da as several eminent critics have already written about his craft as one of India's most distinguished artists.
Elders in my family were deeply involved with supporting and buying art and, as a young entrant, I too began a personal collection, particularly the renditions of Ganesha in his several delightful avatars, when I met Shuva-da in the late 1980s. Within a short course of time, a warm and cordial relationship emerged that continues to this day, nearly 35 years later.
Our earliest project together was in 1992, when we, as a company, were hosting a cultural event called Gangotsav at Diamond Harbour near Kolkata-picturesque spot on the Ganges. Along with soirees and dance recitals in the evenings and a day-long craft fair, I requested Shuva-da to help organise an art camp. And what a feast he put together, comprising some of Bengal's greatest artists!
We were delighted to host Jogen Chowdhury, Paritosh Sen, Lalu Prasad Shaw, Suhas Roy, Prakash Karmakar and Sipra-boudi, Shuva-da's soft-spoken and wonderful wife, and a distinguished artist in her own right. There were several upcoming younger painters as well and, together, they set up their easels under the shade of an ancient banyan tree on the riverbank. Around 15 artists painted their interpretation of the Ganges as a gathering of over a thousand people watched, fascinated by these masters at work. With the early winter sunsets adding magic to the atmosphere, it was, indeed, a thrilling event. What evolved was a unique exposé of art unfolding against the lapping waves that allowed several curious citizens to get a rare opportunity to participate by simply observing some of Bengal's greatest artists painting in public.
While curating this event, Shuva-da become very close to my wife, Madhu, and I. He took upon himself not just the role of an elder guide but also helped me to appreciate the finer nuances of good art. That was the beginning of a warm personal bond that reached a very touching moment some years later in 1997.
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