Emami Chisel Art brings songs of amity an exhibition of painting by Bratin Khan, Sutapa Khan to Kolkata

The exhibition was inaugurated by Shri R.S. Agarwal & Shri R.S. Goenka, Founders & Joint Chairmen, Emami Group of Companies in the presence of distinguished artists and art connoisseurs of the city.

Bratin Khan & Sutapa Khan’s, “Songs of Amity“ will be on view at Emami Chisel Art, Kolkata from Jan 14 to Feb 14 from 11am to 7 pm.

Bratin Khan is known for his paintings which exudes a light that emerges from within. The influence of the Bengal school is apparent in his handling of the line and color.

While, his wife Sutapa is known for her medium that is tempera on canvas. Her style is an extended form of Indian miniatures paintings on a large canvas or paper.

In 1992, Bratin Khan won the Best Painting Award from the Indian Society of Oriental Art and Culture. Khan's paintings are in the collection of Sony Electronics, Japan; Sonodyne; and RPG Group India; and other private collections in India, USA, UK, Mauritius, Indonesia and Germany.

In 2004, Sutapa Khan did a group show at International Business Summit, Davos, Switzerland. Sutapa’s paintings are in the collection of Jaqueline R Landquist, Ex- American Ambassador to India, and renowned artist Manjeet Bawa.

She has also done shows at American Consulate, Kolkata along with her husband Bratin, and at Birla Academy and Academy of Fine Arts Kolkata.

The paintings of Bratin & Sutapa Khan are inhabited by languid figures that flow gracefully with the overall schema of the natural radiant world. Both these artists essentially draw their subjects from the wide base of Indian mythology, religion and folk lore.

The eyes for details and commendable mastery of line make their styles unique. The works of Bratin and Sutapa are part of a much broader tradition of our romantic art that has a history of at least fifteen hundred years and contain a rich vocabulary of iconography and symbolism.

Both Bratin and Sutapa have chosen to evolve along the line of representational art, using the Krishna theme of “the dark hero of the Yadavas” as described by the noted historian D.D. Kosambi.

This particular theme is evoked in their works of various shades of blue and cool colours, contrasting with the nayika theme in warm colours that we find in Sutapa’s works.

Bratin concentrates on the male icon in cool colours while Sutapa chooses the female icon in warm ones.

The colours, both warm and cool, play the role of signposts towards a required emotional response in the true “rasa” tradition of our art. As such this art goes beyond mere expression. It is meant to, and does, create an impression.  The themes too are drawn from our traditional view of the human life cycle, from being a young child to a protector of his herds flirting with village damsels and then a Buddha like figure in renunciation, with symbolic animal figures of a baby elephant, cows, peacocks and swans highlighting different stages of the life cycle. Each work stands as an action of faith – faith that correlates with the elemental processes of nature, drawing together the ancient and new, the macrocosm and microcosm, and attuned to the rhythms of the cosmos itself.

“Hosting the show Songs of Amity an exhibition of painting by Bratin Khan & Sutapa Khan in Kolkata brings one of the highest privileges that a gallery can vie for. As an artist both create their own characters and myths drawing inspiration from literature, theatre, music and other aspects of life, juxtaposed with folklore, legends and mythology. For them it is the coexistence of life with all its dualities that matter. Both the aesthetic beauty and the strength are derived from this faith built into their life and art.” said Richa Agarwal of Emami Chisel Art.

The exhibition will offer artworks paintings selected and compiled tastefully, the artworks would be available for all art connoisseurs at prices between INR 25,000 to INR 10, 00,000.