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Lot 37

 

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“Black builds up a charge that I relish. Besides, the form, the image I’m making gains in prominence against the black. Black brings depth and dimension to a work of art.” - JOGEN CHOWDHURY

Jogen Chowdhury’s art eschews Western trends in favour of a uniquely Indian approach inspired by traditional folklore and Indian family values. Though the Bengal influence in his work is undeniable, his attention to figuration and his skilful... “Black builds up a charge that I relish. Besides, the form, the image I’m making gains in prominence against the black. Black brings depth and dimension to a work of art.” - JOGEN CHOWDHURY

Jogen Chowdhury’s art eschews Western trends in favour of a uniquely Indian approach inspired by traditional folklore and Indian family values. Though the Bengal influence in his work is undeniable, his attention to figuration and his skilful composition ensure a universal appeal. His freely rendered and often distorted figures recall people and interactions from daily life and stand out due to the manner in which he “weaves the saris or odhini of the women or the dhoti of the men into spectacular contemporary forms that tell the magic of the tale.” (Uma Nair, Jogen Chowdhury: Abahoman – Floating Life, New Delhi: Vadehra Art Gallery, 2007, pp. 7-8)

Chowdhury adopted the technique of minute cross-hatching in the 1960s to add texture to his art. This soon became his trademark style and worked effectively with his use of ink and pastel to render the unbroken, meandering lines that feature in many of his works, including the present lot. The cross-hatching technique, usually using black ink, helped Chowdhury “build up a surface quality that wouldn’t be possible with watercolour and brush.” (Artist quoted in Rakhi Sarkar, Jogen Chowdhury and Rita Dutta, Jogen Chowdhury: His Life and Times, Kolkata: CIMA Gallery Pvt. Ltd., 2006, p. 44)

Chowdhury usually chooses to place his subjects against a black background which, in turn, allows the viewer to focus their attention solely on the central character, i.e., the bird in the present lot. The figures themselves are infused with a slightly distorted quality, bordering on the grotesque, an element that reflects his opinion of the privileged classes and business community he witnessed around him. They are also woven into shape with the help of a spidery web of dense cross-hatched lines, often fleshed out with a hint of colour added with a soft dry pastel. “We did not have electricity in our house and I had to read by the hurricane lantern. I had to fall back on black and white because we did not have enough light...We had a miserable state of living when we came to Kolkata as refugees...The criss-crossing lines, too, may be carrying traces of the environmental and mental complications of that time.” (Artist quoted in Masanori Fukuoka, R Siva Kumar and Jogen Chowdhury, Jogen Chowdhury: Enigmatic Visions, Japan: Glenbarra Art Museum, 2005, p. 52)

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