Life and art of Sanjay Bhattacharya

Executed in a diverse and dynamic array of media and forms, Sanjay Bhattacharya’s enchanting and gripping oeuvre looks to explore inherently dual nature of realities.

His idea is to try and blend the complex outer and inner layers of it, juxtaposing or even confronting both at times. His works encompass quaint architectural elements quite often - streets of Kolkata and realistic portraiture.

Apart from several solos, among his selected group shows are 'Edge of Reason- and beyond, into pure creativity' courtesy Indian Art Circle at Lalit Kala Akademi, Delhi (2013); 'Masterclass', Dhoomimal Art Gallery, Delhi (2011); 'Reprise', Aicon Gallery, New York (2011); 'Holy Now', presented by Religare Arts Initiative at Gallery 27, London (2010); annual exhibition of Chawla Art Gallery, Delhi (2010); 'Home and the World', Aicon Gallery, New York (2010); 'Harvest 2008' by Arushi Arts at The Stainless, Delhi; 'Sanjay Bhattacharya 1981-96' at Art Today, Delhi; and 'Rajiv Gandhi: Landscape of a man', NGMA and Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai, almost two decades ago, among other shows. 

His most recent solo show, entitled 'Emerging Krishna', was held at Religare Arts Initiative, Delhi. The series was a poignant exploration of captured moments and altered ways of seeing. Done in three different media such as exquisite photographs, canvases and sculptures, it was a delightful exploration of light, color, composition and mood. The works exuded sublime spirituality, with a resonant reverence and that of his 17th century Spanish obsession with the mirror image of reality.

Curator Uma Nair mentioned in an accompanying note: “In a complex and mixed society, we can look at this show in two very distinct ways. First, at the canvases and then the photographs or vice versa, but wherever you begin, there is the charisma of a darshan to an urban audience, the touch of the past, a setting against the bricks and rusted embers of time. Sanjay gives us Krishna as an icon of a symbolism, a silhouette framed in the pantheon of remembrance.”