After two decades, Archana Banerjee is curating a golden journey in the artist fraternity, along with a few other artists whose journey she has been closely associated with. The exhibition is titled Varied Strokes and presented by Anushka Art and Design.
“Most of the artists participating in the exhibition are one’s whose work I have followed and witnessed the way their works have shaped,” says Banerjee, who has been closely associated with the art world. “I wanted to showcase the artists whose work I have admired. Their work focuses more on realism, a genre that is underrated. Though it is not easy to do good realistic painting, most of these artists have worked on various realistic series and have reached a level where people understand and appreciate their work.”
Participating artists are Kishore Roy, Somnath C Banerjee, Tapan Dash, Dharmendra Rathore, Bhagat Singh, Shuvendu Sarkar, Raamji Sharmaa, Swapan Das, Anil Kumar Roy, Anup Kumar Chand and Sabia. “Bhagat Singh’s flora and fauna works are very vibrant. For a long time Somnath was only painting but for the last nine-ten years, he has been working on sculptures. He’s the only one in the exhibition who is showcasing sculptures. Shuvendu is a very fine realist painter and works on cityscapes and old Kolkata houses. His work brings nostalgia whenever you look at his work,” shares Banerjee.
Banerjee calls the artists the “best 11”, but is not disputing that other artists are any lesser. “I hold everybody who is a creator in high regard. But as far as the contemporary scene is concerned, I call these the ‘best 11’. They may not have reached the top, but what attracts me to their work is the resolution of constantly working towards creating masterpiece after masterpiece tirelessly, as passionate as they were 20 years ago.”
Banerjee believes that over the years numerous avenues have opened up for artists. “Everybody wants to beautify their homes and are willing to buy some form of art. People are becoming aware of various artforms and are looking at art as an investment. So, there is a huge change in how things were many generations earlier.”
On: December 14-17
At: Open Palm Court, IHC