Continuing the Bengal legacy

Highlighting the artistic continuity of modern and contemporary Bengal, the works of Bengal Panorama II, presented by Janus Art Gallery features several styles, genres, periods, themes that have been prevalent throughout the history of Bengal modernism, the exhibition showcases over fifty art works by a range of modernists, including Jogen Chowdhury, Sunil Das, Suhas Roy, Bipin Goswami, Prokash Karmakar, Paritosh Sen, L. P. Shaw, Isha Mahammad, Sajal Roy, Bijon Chowdhury, Adinath Mukherjee, Ratan Acherjee, Manoj Dutta, Bimal Kar, Rabin Dutta, Subrata Gangopadhyay and a few like-minded young artists and a complete section dedicated to Sunil Das with his sculptures.

Unlike the 50s artists, primarily working in abstraction, Sunil Das devoted himself to figuration and occasionally tried his hand at sculpture. Master sculptor, Bipin Goswami's Durga, reclining figure, mother and child and portraits represent signature style and his interest in the modern idiom.

Master sculptor, Bipin Goswami's Durga, reclining figure, mother and child and portraits represent signature style and his interest in the modern idiom.

One of the best among his generation of Calcutta painters, Bijon Chowdhury occasionally painted mythological works apart from socio-political themes, whereas Lalu Prasad Shaw mainly focused on his babu-bibi series in tempera or gouache.

Ratan Acherjee mastered the wash technique of Abanindranth Tagore, while Manoj Dutta continued to paint folk motifs.

Portraying the diversity of Bengal modernism, the exhibition also incorporates a sketch by Jogen Chowdhury, dreamy landscapes of Prokash Karmakar, Suhas Roy's female protagonist, Bimal Kar's city and mountain-scapes and a self-portrait by Partiosh Sen as a thinker. Whether it is Sajal Roy's allegorical and cubist works, Rabin Dutta's female portraits of surreal quality or Subrat Gangooly's festive colours, each work stands on its own.

Recent trends of the contemporary Bengal are represented here by large-scale sculptural works of Rajesh Sharma and Suvajit Samanta, a bronze by Animesh Mahata, minimal figuration of Debabrata Sarkar, including Shovin Bhattacharjee's psychological image and Parbir Kumar Bera's depiction of carnal love.

Connected only by the geographical confines of Bengal, the artists and art works on display include not just some of the most important names of the region, but also work of individual stylistic importance.