Twist in the tale

Shift is different from moving forward or moving backward. It means moving along the lateral. And among all physical mobilities-pushing, pulling, picking or dropping, shifting is the most challenging. 

Curated by Joyoti Roy, the painting and photography exhibition Shift Collective displays the works of Suman Sengupta and Amit Dey that challenge their own subjects and metaphors. It is familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. 

The artistes come from the mainstream visual media. The major shift in the manner in which the artists have challenged their mainstream work is the real creative genius of this exhibition. This is an internal journey but so daring that it should be thrown up in the open to be watched and interpreted. 

In the 22 works in this exhibition, viewers will see a gradation in the development of the ideas of the artists in this scheme, how each concept has been meticulously developed and rendered. So shift your gears and enjoy this ride. It is going to be an act of handling weight, direction, tact and impact, all at the same time.

Suman’s paintings are bold, honest, simple and driven, essentially, by passion and love for the vocation. His paintings are often his tool of reaction to the world around him. He has been inspired by the works of Vincent van Gogh, Pablo Piccasso and Bikash Bhattacharya all known to be passionate painters, who painted because of an urgent need to express without a care for consequence and attaining the heights of unique, often assertive, interpretations of life around.

Amit Dey is one of the rare photographers who have achieved commercial success and critical acclaim in equal measures. Based in New Delhi, India, he has been involved in creating many different types of images, ranging from fashion to architecture, lifestyle to concepts... and many things in between.

Cherishing his artistic freedom, he loves to experiment, and refuses to be tied to any particular genre or style.