Important Notice

Jogen Chowdhury’s works reveal a blend of sources, including etching and folk-art, and often depict his subjects with corrosive wit and a gripping harshness of truth. In 2007, an exhibition titled “Abahoman: Flowing Life”, by Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi, featured a compilation of works by Chowdhury dated between 2002 and 2007. The present lot, dated 2007 and rendered in pen, ink and pastel on paper, was a part of this exhibition. Jogen began... Jogen Chowdhury’s works reveal a blend of sources, including etching and folk-art, and often depict his subjects with corrosive wit and a gripping harshness of truth. In 2007, an exhibition titled “Abahoman: Flowing Life”, by Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi, featured a compilation of works by Chowdhury dated between 2002 and 2007. The present lot, dated 2007 and rendered in pen, ink and pastel on paper, was a part of this exhibition. Jogen began experimenting with pen, ink and pastel, and with criss-cross patterns, in the early 1960s. The “...expressionist rhythmicity and perceptible distortion, particularly in the tendency to break and bend and twist and turn the human torso with all its weight” mirrored his thinking at the time (R Siva Kumar, “Jogen Chowdhury: Lyric and Enigmatic Visions”, Jogen Chowdhury, Enigmatic Visions: Works from the Glenbarra Art Museum, Japan: Glenbarra Art Museum and Jogen Chowdhury, 2005, p15). His understanding of the function of the line gave his works a dramatic feel, adding a profoundness to the subjects and themes portrayed in his art. Here, Jogen’s signature cross-hatched body is contorted to fill the frame. The man lies crouching, his hand covering his face, giving the viewer a glimpse of the misery that plagues him. A laceration on his right shoulder suggests a vulnerability that cannot be ignored or hidden from prying eyes. Chowdhury conveys the plight of the suffering man with incredible sensitivity and a meticulous approach to technique.

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