Sunil Das

Sunil Das whose works are featured as the artist of the month - June gave an exclusive interview to Saffronart.

It seems that there is a very close emotional, even cathartic relationship between you and your paintings. Is this true, and is painting for you more than just simple representation?
My paintings are not just paintings. Throughout my career, they have been what I am thinking and...

Sunil Das whose works are featured as the artist of the month - June gave an exclusive interview to Saffronart.

It seems that there is a very close emotional, even cathartic relationship between you and your paintings. Is this true, and is painting for you more than just simple representation?
My paintings are not just paintings. Throughout my career, they have been what I am thinking and what I am experiencing at the time I work. They are my body. That's why I tend to name all of them either Sunil 1, 2, 3 or Self. All my work comes through me, so the self is a very important presence in the works. I maybe a still life, a landscape or even a horse. Everything I do is only a transformation of myself. Even the media and surface I choose, whether napkins, brushes or my own hand, depends on my mood and the moment. Everything becomes a self-portrait, reflecting my surroundings and my feelings.

What have been the major influences so far shaping and affecting your work?
As I said, everything depends on the ambience at the time, even my source of inspiration. For example, earlier my work was greatly inspired by my close bond with the people of Bangladesh. They used to come and live in my house when they ran away from their country. They were refugees, and my work at the time reflected themes of freedom and captivity. In fact some visitors and professors from Germany came and said they would take all my work to exhibit there. Recently, in the wake of all this violence, my work has been influenced by the blasts in Gujarat. So you see how everything depends on the mood and ambiance. Its what strikes me and what I pick up on at that moment. My horses for instance came at a time when I was working very hard in Calcutta towards a fellowship. I was moving around the city, and once on my way to a station to observe and paint, I saw the mounted police's horses. Their physical beauty and grace struck me, being a sportsman myself, and I spent entire nights in a stable painting them. Now of course they have become almost a logo for me and many people buy them at high prices. On the other hand, I began painting bulls when I was studying in France and happened to visit the Prado Museum and Madrid and saw a bull fight there. I was a poor student, so I sold those works, and everyone liked them. They sold then for about Rs. 2500, and today they sell for much more!
One of my professors in France told me that art is like literature, and to produce great things you have to inhale the society and the whole situation, and then create something new and original from that. From then on I began to experiment with my work. I used whatever media I could, things like nails, jute and broken glass haunted me. I would also use burnt foil and wood, and at the same time conventional canvas.

Your recent work has involved several different and innovative mediums as you say. Which one did you find most fulfilling to work with?
My language professor in France told me once that if you know one language well, you can learn any other easily. I believe that if you are honest and confident, you can mould and control anything. Any medium or surface, no matter what. It's the same principle. In my case I don't allow the medium to control me, I take control of it. I have tremendous confidence in myself and in my abilities, so there is no hesitation, and therefore no problem. If you know your grammar you can twist language in any way. You can even make poetry.
Since I have established command over the media I use, there is no one in particular that I find fulfilling. I use whatever strikes me at a particular moment.

How did your stint as a Director in the Ministry of Textiles affect your work?
I was very involved with the ministry as an adviser. All the people from that office still call me Sunil da (da in Bengali is brother) and come to see me. I worked very hard that time, and interacted with lots of local people as well. Now my interaction with all these people and all my experiences at the time definitely did influence my work, but my work also influenced the textiles. They helped my painting and my painting helped them. I made dhurries, playing a game of colors. Saris also. I designed a lot, and if one design is printed on ten saris, then I must have made a million by now.

It has been said that your paintings of human figures reflect a surrealist influence. Is this true?
No not at all. It has never been a conscious effort with me. I believe it is what you, as the third person, see in my work. The third person can interpret anything, depending on what they feel and think. Just like I as a painter use what I feel and think to create. Someone once saw my work and said that it resembled the Ajanta and Ellora paintings because I also employed a fine brush for finishing and outlining after using my hands and fingers to paint. I never realized or saw the resemblance. My work was automatic, and not conscious, in this case as well.

Among all Indian contemporary painters, whose work do you appreciate the most?
My favourite painter is FN Souza. Both our temperaments are very strong. Our work is similar in that way. Our characters coincide.
Another artist I like is Jeram Patel, whose work not too many people know about. They haven't heard about him, but I have seen his work.

What are you working on now?
Right now I'm painting some very big pieces for a show in Singapore. I'm using acrylic on canvas as well as watercolours.

You recently started Gallery Sunil in Kolkata. How is that venture going?
People have written that I am the first living artist to have started his own gallery. So far it's doing very well. My studio is in my house, and many of my friends from India and other countries come and visit me there. I am also the only artist in India to have sold my works since the time I was a student. My studio has now almost become a camp, with everything lying all over the place. I couldn't show my works properly to buyers. These are all the reasons I decided to start my gallery. Now I have a proper display and selling place. I'm a professional and I love to sell my work. If I say selling is not something I like, I'm a hypocrite. The gallery space is 800 sq. ft. and beneath my house. It opened in January 2002 and whenever I get a call from someone no matter what time. I go down myself to open it up and show them around. It's very informal and people come and go right from ten in the morning till midnight. I never say no to anyone. They come sometimes and stay for dinner and coffee, even in their lungis (casual form clothing worn at home)!