Size doesn’t matter. Tripura is the third smallest State of India but one of the most beautiful places in the country. Artist Prithwish Kumar Roy’s latest work highlights the beauty of the State, where he grew up.
For his exhibition to be held at Lalit Kala Akademi from May 25 to May 31, the artist has portrayed farms, forests, monuments and people of Tripura. And then some paintings move beyond the faces and places to highlight the cultural aspect of the place. The idea behind this exhibition is to promote Tripura and its beauty. Roy believes that such promotion can help the state get the attention of people living in other parts of the country.
“Wherever I have found beauty, I tried to capture it on my canvas. This year, I have presented my hometown. I think it is my duty to show the beauty of Tripura to the people of Delhi. Also I have taken monuments and figurative composition as I don’t want to bore the viewers of my exhibition with just landscapes,” reveals Roy.
Roy started his journey in the art world on his own with no one to guide him. Never to lose hope, Roy has been working as an artist for four decades. His father’s inclination towards sketching and drawing was his source of inspiration. He spoke to his father about his keenness to join the Kala Bhavan at Visva-Bharati University, Santiniketan, West Bengal, and his father agreed to send him to the art school.
“I remember that there was a Nigerian boy whose love affair those days led to a huge fight. My uncle took me to Kolkata. He told me that I should not get into such matters as the society did not like such things. He opposed me studying there because of that incident. He denied taking my responsibility. That is when I took admission in the Agartala University. After the first year, I got to know about the Government Art College in Agartala. I dropped out after the first year and did Diploma in Arts from Visva-Bharati,” reminisces Roy.
In the past Roy has done exhibitions on Sikkim, gadia lohar of Mewat and devotees of Krishna in Mathura-Vrindavan.
He has also put together illustrative books like “Bhabhi Bani Sarpanch” published by the National Book Trust and the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation which dealt with the subject of women empowerment. Next year, the artist plans to have an exhibition on different faces of Indian women.
(The exhibition is on from May 25 to May 31 at Lalit Kala Akademi.)