Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Jayanta Bhattacharya :Creatively 'Art'rageous


( In the picture -Coin And Building )
Jayanta Bhattacharya is a well known name in the field of art in Noth East of India.Being immediate neighbors Jayanta and I usually bump into each other .I mostly see him working on his canvas or taking an evening stroll .Whenever we meet we talk a lot about his ongoing exhibitions,future tours and his latest work . Time to time he invites me to have a look at his work.He even shares some of the finest books related to art . On one such meeting last week he invited me again .Next day as i was about to leave my house i saw the crew members of the most popular regional TV channel making their way to his house and i remembered that he had mentioned that he is going to be interviewd by famous art critic and writer Mousumi Kandali.I decided to wait for a day and visited him the next day . By his permission i am going to share with you some of his art work and the conversation we had that day.


(Black Goat - he is presently working on this painting)
Born in Tuichindrai ,a small tribal village of Tripura,Jayanta grew up in a lower middle class joint family.He grew up at a time (80s) when the state was passing through turbulent times due to the community clashes between the Tribals and Bengalis of Tripura.The continuous riots,curfew and violence had a profound affect on Jayanta who was then only a child.Later in 2002 he passed out from the Govt College of Art &Craft .During college he started writing for local newspapers ,published magazine like Muktodhara and also initiated workshops and street exhibitions.His restless mind made him travel the country like a vagabond.He visited Shantiniketan and many other places.Not having found what his mind knew not ,he spent time with in the interior tribal villages of Tripura ,isolating himself from the rest of the world.He kept no contact with anyone .He lived amongst them and was deeply affected by their lives and their art forms.In 2004 he came to Assam and took an art teaching job in a very prestigious educational institute of Guwahati .Seven months back he left his job so that he can devote more time to his only passion-painting !

(The Road -Black Pitch &Metal)
This is how Mousumi Kandali speaks about his work . Moushumi is a renowned writer,art-critic and translator.
'Abstracted thoughts.Innate lyricism.Minimalistic rendering with layered sparks of sensuousness and eroticism hidden beneath. And reflexive gestures about the socio-political implications of our space and time overwhelmed by violence, turmoil and hostile social systems. These are the underlying artistic currents and undercurrents I experience whenever I see the works of Jayanta Bhattacharya. For my curatorial exhibition of the North-Eastern artists for the Octave Festival organised by Rastriya Lalit Kala Akademy and Govt. of India ( Trivundum,2008) young turks Jayanta Bhattacharya and Mrinmoy Debbarma were my choice of artist alongwith the senior artist Dipika Saha from Tripura. I included Jayanta's "The Road ",an experimental sculpture-installation.This work ( Black Pitch & Metal) has captured the uncertainty and terror of our time very meaningfully with certain motifs like the manhole, impressions of bare feet and boots and strains of bullet marks'.....

(Untitled Painting)
In Jayanta's own words-- "There is nothing much to say about myself.Compared to the endless spectrum of ever changing human civilization,my quantum of experience is minuscule.By birth i have been naturally acquainted with certain words - certain sensations were within me ever since birth and now they are a part of me.I feel myself bound and tied down by the troubled and restless mental state created by today's world.

(Titled :Dragonflies over a smoked city)

Through these turbulent times ,i walk across the busy footpath,the over bridge above ,the railway track,shopping malls,playgrounds and parade grounds.I watch the setting sun through the small window of the city bus.As i walk along the road in the scorching sun ,my eyes fall on the cut pieces of watermelon ,sparkling a bright red.

(Titled :Mahishasurmardini)
Sometimes the sounds of shots ringing in the night air jolt me out of my dreams.I remember ....years ago ,i had gone with grandma to cast my vote for the first time.Some elderly people had thrust chocolates into my hand then.Grandma ,me and an endless road....

(Mural by Jayanta)
The road to dad's office would be strewn with the yellow flowers of the Golden shower trees.On that yellow road,i had ,at times walked with my dad.....dad ,the golden yellow flowers,the road and me .The rat-a-tat-a tat of bullets wake me up and through the haze i see a road ,shells of spent cartridges,boot marks and some dry leaves....rustling."


                                                         (Untitled )


Later he talked a lot about Tracey Amin ,he suggested me reading more about her .Further he told me  about the works of Antony Gormley and Anish Kapoor .He gave me two books to read from his personal collection one is A World History Of Art and the other  The Contemporary Art Book.He is into short movie making too .What i really like about him is that despite being so good in his work,he does not give himself any airs.I wish there was someone better than I to tell you his story.

44 comments:

  1. great post and artist. I don't understand art much, but his work speaks volume of his talent. and he is so young! you are lucky to be his neighbour. you must be getting a chance to live through his paintings since day one! I envy you!!

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  2. interesting talented individual who is trying to communicate his inner feelings through his art...

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  3. kya baat hai...very well written !

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  4. The last painting (Jesus?) is different from the others. Is your neighbor a Christian?

    Interesting neighbor, Kavita.

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  5. Excellent post.Wonderful paintings not able to take my eyes from them.

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  6. Very good post. Learnt about an artist and Tripura too. Thanks

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  7. This is a very interesting article about this very talented artist. I enjoyed reading all about him, thanks for sharing. Thank you for coming by and have a nice week.

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  8. I am at a loss when it comes to abstract painting, but for some reason unknown to me I kept on going back to the crow... there is a soothing quality about the tone of his paintings; easy on eyes and lingering...

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  9. Awesome. He is a genius..

    Thank you for the informative post. I like the one of Jesus best..

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  10. all very nice piece of Art...a very talented person he seems...
    its a very well written post!

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  11. My favorite works are
    'Coin And Building'(simply awesome)
    'The Road -Black Pitch &Metal'
    and two untitled paintings(crow&Jesus).the way he painted the values of black color in that crow painting is simply amazing...Thank you so much for sharing these info about the artist..One remarkable post.
    Keep writing
    :)
    Be happy...like always.

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  12. Outstanding. I especially enjoyed the black bird and dragon fly paintings.
    Wonderful post, as always...

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  13. Absolutely beautiful. They are definitely classics. My favorite is the last one.

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  14. Thats talent for you, very interesting his story... How he moved away from everything to find his way...
    My favorite ones are the dragonflies and coin ones!!
    Thanks for sharing such a wonderful post with us:)

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  15. The Untitled crow is absolutely eye catching. Thanks for sharing. :)

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  16. the life of a true artist!
    you have portrayed him and his work beautifully..
    thank you for sharing

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  17. The 'crow' is the best! It looks so natural, Kavita!

    The 'dragon fly' with the words 'vote for' also is very artistic.

    The last one is entirely different from his earlier works!

    God bless him...this talented young man should go places!

    Thanks for introducing Jayanta to us, Kavita...we might see his name somewhere and recognise him and remember your post!

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  18. Very beautiful, I loved the crow and the mural. I would have loved to have an artist for a neighbour, so much to learn from...

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  19. @Neha :even i don't understand abstract art that well but i have an artist sister and Jayanta as a neighbor so with their help i am learning to understand and appreciate it.Thanks buddy :)

    @Lin :he does it wonderfully.Thanks :)

    @Kishore:aapko pasand aaya,dhanyavad.

    @Gigi :he painted Jesus picture on order for a Convent School out here.He is a Hindu btw.

    @Saritha :thanks Sari,i am glad you loved them.


    @Haddock:that one is one of my favorite too .Thanks.

    @A :i am glad you enjoyed the post.Thanks a lot .

    @Balachandran : you are right his color tones are very soothing ,i have never seen any aggression in his works.Thanks.

    @Stranger..that painting took few good weeks to complete .Now it is adorning the walls of a convent school.Thanks.

    @Harman: thanks Harman,i am happy that you liked the post .

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  20. U come up with such interesting posts kavita. I so feel like planning a trip to Guwahati soon.
    Loved the paintings, esp. the Jesus one and the mural before that

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  21. Nice to meet Jayanta, how very kind of him to let you display his artwork like this. He is what I call a proper artist, no unmade beds posing as artwork for him. No, these I can realate to, I can understand what they are about. I especially loved the one of the dragonflies - beautiful.

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  22. wowo what beautiful paintings
    and you have written such a good post on him..

    excellent

    Bikram's

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  23. Thanks for introducing this fine artist to us. And the experiences the artist has been through seem to have a deep influence on his paintings and other art forms.

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  24. This is the best part about blogging, I get to know things and people whom I wouldn't have heard sitting in a remote corner of the world. His art is quite remarkable! Great Post!

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  25. wowww ...simply supperb ...the road is simply amazing...

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  26. Ahhaa
    That’s good piece of artistic information

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  27. Good morning, I wish to you all the best. By reading this to you, really brilliantly done post, I noted your studiousness and your perfectly normal approach to the topic, I hope, and frankly, and wishing for more of these excellent posts, Selflessness is your virtue, and it is thus to be proud of. . So the word, it would be possible to say this. The diversity of the selected topics, means of access thereto, and, entering maximum herself into the work you do is what makes you distinctive, giving a strong stamp of your work. Thank you for that.

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  28. An interesting article and beautiful art work. Enjoy your weekend. Namaste!

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  29. he is indeed talented and deserves much more exposure :)
    beautiful works thanks for sharing :)

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  30. thanks Kavita - great posting. re your comment on Facebook you are right in that it brings people together - I'm certainly on there far more than I should be

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  31. Beautiful, beautiful art work and you have done a wonderful job posting about it. Thanks for sharing this.

    I just came by to say hi to you. Hope you have an outstanding Weekend!

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  32. ♥♥♥ Olá, amiga!!!
    ✿ ܓܓ ✿Jayanta Bhattacharya é muito talentoso mesmo!
    Todos muitos lindos... especialmente o quadro das libélulas... amei!!!
    ♥ܓܓ ✿ Bom fim de semana!!!
    ♥ܓܓ Muita paz!!!
    ♥♥♥ Beijinhos carinhosos.
    ✿Itabira
    Brasil♥♥♥

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  33. Yes the crow has some thing special about it.

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  34. yes, Jayant has the ability to draw the sublime from the mundane!

    Great work of Art!

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  35. How lucky you are to have Jayanta as your neighbour! My knowledge about art is limited but all of that looks fantastic. Loved the crow, the road and the mural :)

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  36. Excellent. The paintings appear to be so different.

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  37. great post and artist as neha says..and u r a gr8 journalist too Dr...cheers n wishes

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  38. Another great post. Sounds like he's quite an amazing person. Some interesting paintings. Thanks for sharing and also thanks for your visits.

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  39. I do believe the dragonflies and bird are my favorite pieces of art. How wonderful to live next to someone so creative, Kavita. It's great for the children, too.

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  40. Beautiful art Thanks for great post.

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