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A journey within
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For artist Sumana Chowdhury, the physical landscape is as inspiring as the psychological refrains
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KINETIC ENERGY The paintings generate visions of flowing waters, swirling sounds, woven whirlwinds and falling and rising objects
The recent works of Sumana Chowdhury show a refreshingly new approach as compared to her previous efforts. An alumnus of Kala Bhavana, Shantiniketan (where she completed her Bachelor and Master degrees in painting), Sumana was an artist-in-residence at the Kent Institute of Art and Design, London. Winner of Kejriwal Young Artist Award and National Scholarship to study under eminent Bengali artist Jogen Choudhary, she has participated in several group shows in India as well as Singapore and London.
Sumana's works in the recent past were often characterised by a tendency to construct luxuriously patterned surfaces and overtly colourful imagery with a three-dimensional texture. Not always shorn of decorative elements, these works tended to become rather repetitive in form and substance. In the present body of works, she seems to have toned down these elements to a large extent and replaced them with an energetic fusion of thick and blistered paint with semi-abstract motifs. The motifs themselves have been derived from a wide range of sources; the physical landscape is admittedly as inspiring to the artist as the psychological refrains.
The successful paintings generate visions of flowing waters, swirling sounds, woven whirlwinds and falling/rising objects. The aerial views of undulating landscape and extreme close-up views of water bodies are particularly rousing thanks to intricate layering and multiple allusions they seem to unwrap. There is a gentle unease in some of these images even as they provoke the viewer to seek a deeper subtext.
In several other works, the subdued lyricism and tenderness is somewhat loosened by some decorative elements. The idea of breaking up the image into two or three parts also does not necessarily work in some of the displayed paintings. One would like to follow Sumana's future efforts with interest and anticipation.
The exhibition concludes on September 15 on display at Gallery Sumukha, Wilson Garden. Phone: 22292230.
ATHREYA
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