Harmony: A Celebration of Eons of Indian Art

The Indian art world converged at Bikaner House, LTC Hall, for the unveiling of “Harmony,” an exclusive art exhibition presented by Gallery Silver Scapes. This curated showcase spanned 100 years of Indian art, bridging the legacy of modern masters with contemporary artists. The exhibition was a testament to the country’s rich cultural heritage and its thriving art scene.

The VIP preview was attended by distinguished guests, including Hon’ble Former Minister of State for External Affairs and Culture, Smt. Meenakshi Lekhi; Ambassador, H. E. Juan Angulo; Lady Mohini Noon; Indrajit Mukherjee; and Samar Jodha. The evening’s festivities also featured the launch of a comprehensive book on the life and works of celebrated artist Shri Bimal Das Gupta.

This six-day extravaganza was meticulously curated by Vikram Mayor, Director and Curator of Gallery Silver Scapes, who brought together a stunning array of artworks showcasing the innovative and imaginative spirit of both modern masters and contemporary artists. HARMONY presented an extraordinary confluence of artistic brilliance, featuring revered traditional Masters such as Jamini Roy and Suhas Roy, alongside luminaries like Bimal Das Gupta, F.N. Souza, S.H. Raza, and Akbar Padamsee.

Senior contemporary visionaries, including Kashmiri Khosa, Jatin Das, Manu Parekh, Thota Vaikuntam, Paresh Maity, Sanjay Bhattacharya, and Vinod Sharma, added to this rich tapestry. The spotlight was shone on Anita Roy Chowdhury, one of India’s pioneering lady abstractionists. The show provided a platform for emerging artists, including Shanaka Kulathunga, Anurag Anand, and Chaitali Chandra, to showcase their art alongside India’s legends and stalwarts.

Approximately 100 remarkable works were showcased, highlighting coexistence and the essence of ‘Harmony’ in Indian art. The central theme of the show – the fusion of traditional, modern and contemporary art – was evident throughout the showcase, with each artwork demonstrating a unique synergy between heritage and innovation.

“Harmony is not just an exhibition, but a dialogue between the past and the present, where masters and contemporaries come together to create a new language, a new harmony. It celebrates India’s rich cultural heritage and underscores the country’s thriving art scene,” said Vikram Mayor, Curator of Gallery Silver Scapes.

The exhibition was a resounding success, with art enthusiasts and connoisseurs alike praising the curation and the artworks on display. If you missed the exhibition, don’t worry! We’ll be bringing you more updates and insights from the world of Indian art in our future newsletters.

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The Uncompromising Legacy of Anita Roy Chowdhury

Notable thematic threads emanating from her oeuvre encompasses the intrinsic interconnectedness of existence, the inexorable cyclical nature of life and mortality, and the transcendent capacity of art to elevate the quotidian to the sublime.

A Life in Color : Roy’s Artistic Journey

Anita Roy Chowdhury emerges as a luminary artist, casting a resplendent glow on the artistic firmament of Bengal, India, and the world at large. Her groundbreaking oeuvre seamlessly integrates indigenous idioms with innovative chromatic applications, yielding a distinctive aesthetic paradigm that transcends the boundaries of traditional art. This pioneering approach has earned her a revered place among the most celebrated artists of her generation.

Endowed with a profound musicality, Anita transcends the boundaries of art, accessing the rarefied realm where logos, melody, and visual harmony converge in sublime symphony. Her paintings function as nature’s eloquent voice, echoing the eternal cantata of life, where every moment is suffused with transformative potential, and birth and decay engage in an exquisite pas de deux. This poetic and philosophical approach to art-making has allowed Anita to tap into the very essence of existence, capturing the rhythms and cadences of life in all its beauty and complexity.

Through her masterful creations, Anita crystallizes this essence, beckoning viewers to partake in the sublime beauty of the natural world, where the rhythms of existence are distilled into visual poetry. Her paintings are like windows into another world, a world of breathtaking beauty and wonder, where the viewer is invited to step into the realm of the imagination and experience the magic of art firsthand.

Anita’s artistic style, which blends elements of traditional Indian art with modernist innovations, is characterized by its lyricism, sensuality, and deep emotional resonance. Her paintings are like poems, imbued with a musical quality that draws the viewer in and refuses to let go. Each brushstroke, each color choice, and each composition is imbued with a deep sense of purpose and meaning, inviting the viewer to embark on a journey of discovery and contemplation.

A Cultural Bequest of Unparalleled Significance

As we delve deeper into Anita’s art, we begin to appreciate the nuances of her creative vision. Her use of color is both bold and subtle, evoking the full range of human emotions. Her compositions are meticulously crafted, balancing form and space with a masterful sense of harmony. And her brushwork is imbued with a sense of spontaneity and freedom as if the paint itself were alive and in motion.

Anita’s artistic journey is a testament to her innovative spirit, her passion for creativity, and her commitment to pushing the boundaries of traditional art. Her work continues to inspire and delight audiences around the world, and her legacy as one of India’s most innovative and accomplished artists remains unparalleled. Anita’s art is a gift to us all, a reminder of the transformative power of creativity and imagination to uplift and inspire us.

Throughout her career, Anita Roy Chowdhury has demonstrated a remarkable ability to innovate and experiment, breaking umpteen barriers that enclose traditions and exploring new modes of expression. Her art is a testament to the power of creativity and imagination, inspiring us to see the world in new and unexpected ways. As we gaze upon her paintings, we are reminded of the beauty and wonder of the world around us, and the transformative power of art to capture and convey the essence of the human experience.

As we gaze upon her works, we are reminded of the importance of art in our lives, and the profound impact it can have on our understanding of ourselves and the world around us. Anita Roy Chowdhury’s artistic endeavors represent a profound cultural endowment, exemplifying the sublime capacity of creativity and imagination to elevate, inspire, and profoundly impact the universal narrative.

With a career spanning over five decades, Anita Roy Chowdhury’s artistic journey is a testament to her innovative spirit, her passion for creativity, and her commitment to pushing the boundaries of traditional art. Spanning an illustrious career of over five decades, Anita Roy Chowdhury’s extraordinary artistic odyssey is a shining tribute to her fearless innovation, unwavering passion for creativity, and unrelenting pursuit of redefining the frontiers of traditional art.

An Existence Embellished by Art

Evolution of a Visionary:

A Creative Metamorphosis

Throughout her evolution, Anita’s work continues to explore themes of spirituality, nature, and the human condition. Her paintings become increasingly nuanced and complex, reflecting her deepening understanding of the world and her place within it.

Anita Roy Chowdhury’s artistic odyssey commenced within the rarefied realm of a distinguished family, where creativity was meticulously nurtured from her nascent years. Her innate imagination, a kaleidoscope of innovative expression, heralded a promising future. This fertile ground of creative expression was carefully tended by her family, who recognized and encouraged her artistic inclinations from an early age.

Upon completing her academic tenure, Anita enrolled in the venerable Government College of Art & Crafts in Calcutta. This esteemed institution, with its rich history and legacy of artistic excellence, provided the perfect environment for Anita to hone her skills and explore her creative vision. Within the hallowed halls of academia, she found herself surrounded by a coterie of talented peers, including the illustrious Dhiraj Choudhury, Sunil Das, Jogen Chowdhury, and Shyamasree Basu, who would subsequently ascend to prominence as the leading luminaries of the 1960s art scene.

Under the sagacious guidance of Satyen Ghosal, and later, the visionary Gopal Ghosh, Anita’s artistic style underwent a divergent metamorphosis. Gopal Ghosh’s unorthodox approach, which encouraged unfettered experimentation with colors, proved instrumental in paving the way for Anita’s groundbreaking work in watercolors. This bold and innovative approach to art-making allowed Anita to push the boundaries of traditional watercolor techniques, exploring new modes of expression and creating a distinctive visual language that would become the hallmark of her artistic style.