Special preview: 'Shuvaprasanna's 'Expressions of Experience' a visual delight'

KOLKATA: The special preview of 'Expressions of Experience', an exhibition of a series of paintings done on postcards, canvas and famous Bengal shora by eminent artist Shuvaprasanna Bhattacharjee at The Hyatt Regency on Friday was a visual delight for the art connoisseurs.

Mayor Firhad Hakim stated that he was elated to be present at the special preview exhibition.

The paintings open new vistas of Shuvaprasanna's creative process and bring to light the total experience of an artist's journey, which the art connoisseurs will observe, experience, assimilate and be in conversation about as they deem fit.

The exhibition was an attempt to introduce art lovers and the general public to Shuvaprasanna's artistic oeuvre that moves away from the larger size and formats of his usual creative process and instead brings in the novelty of his works in small formats, particularly in canvas, postcards, and Bengal shoraa.

"The works of art last forever. However, exhibitions themselves, especially exhibitions of Shuvaprasannada's are significant. These shows are decidedly a success. It was an effort, and the event was breathtaking," said the TMC leader and Kolkata Mayor.

Organised by Support Act and Deeroi, the event also saw the presence of Cultural Minister Indranil Sen, Jhuma Ghosh, and TMC MLA Debasish Kumar. Sourendro and Soumyojit, the singer and pianist duo's performance added more glitz to the melodious

evening.

Meanwhile, the book launch on the artist titled, 'Shuvaprasanna - A Man for all Seasons', authored by Sushma K Bahl and published by Niyogi Books, New Delhi was also held. It includes a wonderful collection of images from the master artist's signature works apart from other finer details that would delight the readers. The book also touches upon the artist's creative oeuvre, his love for Kolkata, impressionable life events, and his zest for art and life.

Along with the book launch, a panel discussion was held about the book by author Sushma K Bahl along with Prof. Nirmal Kanti Bhattacharjee from the publishers' side. The panel discussion was graced by the former chief secretary of Bengal, Alapan Bandyopadhyay, Dr Kunar Sarkar, actor Koneenica Banerjee, director Arindam Sil, director Suman Mukherjee, and Shuvaprasanna.

In Delhi, actress Sharmila Tagore launched his book. A visibly excited Shuvaprasanna said: "A couple of weeks back I had a show in Delhi where Sharmila Tagore launched the book. Thereafter, Uma Mitra from Kolkata showed a lot of interest in launching it in Kolkata. Also, they planned on having a show of my works in a miniature format where I promised to keep different series of works and also in shoraa," the famed artist said. The exhibition of the artifacts will continue till October 23 at Hyatt Regency Kolkata.

The programme has been conceptualised and curated by Uma Mitra, Debjani Roy, and Srabanee Chakraborty.

Sharing their experience of the evening, they said: "We brought together a small collection of Shuvaprasanna's works that intrigues and enchants students and art lovers alike."