This artist breathes life into metals
Aparna Banerji
Tribune News Service
Jalandhar, November 13
Harano Sur – The Lost Melody — an exhibition of garden sculptures – work of artist, sculptor and painter Basudeb Biswas regaled audiences at the Virsa Vihar in Jalandhar. The exhibition, on till tomorrow, also artfully captures expressions of several students and faculty members of the Apeejay College of Fine Arts.
On display are also photographs clicked by veteran photographer and faculty member Anil Gupta, paintings of faculty members and students, lino-cuts, etc.
However, the highlights at the exhibition of the exhibition are long necked, oblong-faced, figurines – very feminine and tribal in their appeal – and the lime green sculptures — put together by Biswas during the pandemic.
Biswas’s work is inspired by Ritwik Ghatak’s film Ajantrik, Biswas. He said, “In the film, a man mourns his car. It is a scrap now. It is no good but he can’t let go of his attachment to the machine. That evoked feelings in me too. I have asked my neighbours, scrap dealers and friends not to discard pieces of scrap. For them, it might be a waste. But for me, it is a brilliant piece of brass, which evokes several emotions. A piece of scrap that tells a story in itself. So, it was with my ‘Ajantrik’ series that the story started. I sought solace in my art work, which comprises sculptures made of material salvaged from scrap shops. But they bore the perfect additions to that missing part which would lend mu new sculpture harmony.”
Created mainly out of brass – the sculptures are a step ahead of the tall, elongated, stick like figurines Jalandhar has previously witnessed from Biswas. With his early works heavily influenced from his early days at Andamans, these new works also feature tribal ethos. However, these move a step ahead to fantastical forms, mainly denoting women with buns and pouts, some almost alien-like in form.
Also featured during the exhibition are birds, clay sculptures that Biswas has been busy creating. Wonderful tapestries, lino-cuts, photographs and paintings also dot the Satya Paul Art Gallery.
