CONTEMPORARY SIX, an exhibition organised at the State Art Gallery by six prominent artists of Assam, catered to the aesthetic taste of art lovers with a number of paintings. The exhibition comprised works by Munindra N Bhattacharjee, Khil Bahadur Chhetri, Subhakar Laskar, Kamal Mahanta, Jyoti Kumar Kalita and Abanta Bora, and art aficionados were able to see a quality group exhibition after a long time.

Munin Bhattacharjee displayed paintings that attacked the erosion of values in various fields of life. His Birth Centenary of a Cultural Legend laments the gradual degeneration of cultural values as invading elements swamp the field. The reverence for culture has now been reduced to mere superficial, ritualistic tribute-paying to cultural icons. Insect-like attributes given to a face resembling Jyotiprasad, along with a web, allude to this cultural disintegration. His paintings are usually marked by political insinuations and mockery, and The Portrait of a Great Personality contains his biting sarcasm, where many pairs of eyes are placed on the same megalomaniac face, while a hand touches the moustache, as if in a false sense of pride. Nation With Its Own Rhythm, showing a horde of mice with the Red Fort in the background, expresses the feelings generated by the recurrent invasions of the country, which is still continuing, albeit in modern-day forms. The artist also finds a rhythm in violence and subsequent drives against the perpetrators in one of his works.

Sensuality is often palpable in his work, which is expressed through fruit or animal imageries – ripe papayas or peeled bananas – all possessing human attributes. His work Hungry has this hint at sexuality, but the presence of omniscient society is also given due prominence.

Khil Bahadur Chhetri has produced some works based on the theme of migration/assimilation. A couple of his works express his feelings aroused by the phenomenon of cultural assimilation, with musical instruments in one of them alluding to elements of folk culture. Unknown Destination, showing a boat on a river carrying belongings, also deals with the theme in a different way. His etching Natural Sequence is a quality work, both technically and intellectually, where Khil Bahadur alludes to human adaptation with natural changes.

Jyoti Kr Kalita has transformed scientific tools into potent object d’art. This has helped him deal with subject-matters pertaining to love and eroticism. Thus, we find works replete with apparatus-like images alluding to these emotions. The artist integrates his motifs in some other works that are inspired by hilly terrains. His symbols are not only rooted in tools borrowed from every day life, he has also drawn images from our traditional culture. In one work, Jyoti has brought forth the eroticism behind marriage, while decorating his canvas with related imagery. His presentation is artistic, but the erotic base still wriggles out of this ornamental façade.

Abanta Bora has used his bubble motif in his works to symbolise peace in some of his works. Perhaps, the fleeing and elusive nature of peace has inspired him to represent peace with bubbles floating in his canvases. Sophisticated segmentation of the surface and crisp application of colours are prime characteristics of his paintings. Through the human faces, Abanta tries to express his emotions towards various facets of life.

Subhakar Laskar and Kamal Mahanta displayed a number of abstract creations. Both deal with pure abstract art, with individualistic approaches to their work. Lack of a figurative base sets Subhakar apart from others of his ilk. A crispy, uneven appearance, prevalence of black and luminous patches squeezing out of the pitch dark areas are some of the traits of his work. Though forms are all but absent, reality can be traced from the mishmash of intricate patterns, accidental coordination of lines/strokes, and juxtaposition of the spaces of contrasting colours and radiance, which the artist re-works with careful brushwork to enhance intensity. His canvases are a reflection of a certain state of mind, which may be instantaneous or a result of a long psychological synthesis.

Kamal is also counted among a few protagonists of abstract art in Assam today. He has embraced abstraction almost by choice, by deviating from his style that was primarily figurative. Kamal’s canvases are vibrant, and his patterns and shapes are geometric in appearance. This may remind one of the futurist/cubo-futurist styles, although there are obvious differences. In Malevich’s works, we see geometric shapes of flat colour occupying their own space against mono-coloured, uninterrupted backgrounds. All together, these dynamic elements imply a sense of movement. In contrast, Kamal’s blocks are overlapping, made of uneven colour applied with crisp strokes, and the emphasis is on striking a balance among one another. Both Subhakar and Kamal succeed in giving the viewer a spiritual experience. The observable and intrinsic differences between their approaches added a certain dimension to the exhibition.

Debashish Bezbaruah