The just concluded exhibition by the well-known group known as the Calcutta Painters, at the Rabindra Bhawan Gallery in Delhi was well worth the visit. It was the 47th annual exhibition organised by Lalit Kala Akademi together with the Ministry of Culture.

The Calcutta Painters came into being in 1963 when six painters from Kolkata, decided to exhibit their work as a group in the capital. They included Nikhil Biswas, Rabin Mondal, Prokash Karmakar, Gopal Sanyal, Bijan Chowdhury and Ranjan (Mahim) Roodro. All known names in Calcutta, but virtually unknown outside.The exhibition was a success. Of this first lot of members, many have passed on but they continue to remain household names even now. More members joined the group and the exhibition at Lalit Kala Akademy showcased the works of past and present members. Among senior artists, there were works by Rabin Mondal, Prokash Karmakar and Bijan Chouwdhury. Mondal’s style is too popular to be discussed, but I do not recollect having seen the two oils that were exhibited. Prok-ash Karmakar, whose work I am beginning to appreciate more, showed a number of his inimitable landscapes. Bijan Chowdhury’s two paintings were also fine representations of his figurative style. Invitees to the exhibition were veteran Amitabh Sengupta and Ashoke Mullick — artists whose distinctly different works served brightened the mo-od. Among the large collection of works, the variety is worth mentioning. We might begin with Dhiraj Chowdhury, who recently celebrated his 75th birthday. His work is regularly seen in various Indian cities — most recently at Gallery Art & Space in Bangalore. Niren Sengupta’s cubistic style is familiar to Delhi, but his two acrylics on canvas appear more symbolic than those I have seen earlier. Perhaps the most famous member of the group, Jogen Chowdhury’s work left one asking for more, but the others more than made up for this. Animesh Nandi’s style offers visually appealing serene works that have a story to tell. Contrast in style and technique are Barun Roy’s exciting abstract creations. Phalguni Dasgupta continues to delight with his watercolours, while Isha Mohammad’s Conspiracy 1 & 2 are full of stories. Gautam Bhowmik’s colourful musicians and old man are a delight. Debabrata Chakra-borty’s three rather special acrylics are part of his Warrior series. Sudip Banerjee reflects heritage through his fresco-like images, while Wasim Kapoor’s images of Mother Teresa are memorable. I was pleased to see Tapan Ghosh’s pencil sketches in black and white.

The others — Susanta Chakraborty, Subrata Ghosh, Subhabrata Nandi, Nikhilesh Das and Anita Roy Chowdhury — combine figures with elements of everyday life. These collages of images appear to be much in favour these days. The works by Shyamasree Basu and Sibaprasada Karchoudhuri are appealingly abstract. We cannot leave out the few pieces of sculpture at the show. My favo-urites at the show were Sur-ajit Das’two bronzes — Shelter and Bhowanipur Couple.

(The writer is a winner of many advertising

design awards and a painter of repute)