Chennai-born Tamar Chatterjee recently bagged the International Award at the opening ceremony of the Ist Premio Internationale Tiepolo Arte in Milan, Italy. The award, considered to be one of the most prestigious in the art world, was given to selected artists for their works that were on display in Europe, in the last one year. So, what does it mean to Tamar? Well, it might just be his big break into the continent’s core art group, which in a bygone era included names like Michelangelo and Leonardo Da Vinci. He says over a FaceTime call from London, “It has raised my profile as an artist and helped me get a foot in the door. Having said that, not getting it wouldn’t have deterred me from doing what I am doing.”
Tamar’s painting, ‘Manna’, was shortlisted for the award by a panel of judges, including artist Jose Van Roy Dali, son of the surrealist icon Salvador Dali; Salvatore Rosso, international curator; and art critic and publisher Sandro Serradifalco.
The oil on canvas painting, which shows a man’s face with a red slash across his mouth, is a reflection of one’s “decision to confront or not to confront”. ‘Manna’ was born out of a personal experience — “not an incident that I can put my finger on, but a collation of several small experiences. More like a journal of a period in my life,” says Tamar, whose work is greatly influenced by the Renaissance, Baroque and the Post Impressionist movements in Europe. “Many people find my art (Be Leaving, Falling to Peaces, and so on) dark, but for me, it’s about spirituality, hope, and a promise of better days to come,” he adds.
One of the best days for Tamar, the only Indian in the list of awardees, was probably April 21 this year. Rubbing shoulders with the who’s who in the art and culture scene of Milan, he walked to the stage to receive the award from Joy Van Roy Dali at the prestigious Clerici Hall (which houses the popular auction house, Christie’s). While the experience was overwhelming, he says, it was equally bewildering. “Everybody spoke Italian! Now, I did have a translator at the black-tie event, but there were important long speeches by dignitaries, which I couldn’t follow,” he laughs. “Nevertheless, it was encouraging,” he adds.
Encouraging enough for him to consider taking up art full-time. Currently, Tamar works in a London-based company called Double Negative, where he creates images and visual effects for action flicks. The work, though creative, is far from what he does outside his office hours. “I am old-school. I work in oil, and place a lot of emphasis on the conceptualisation phase, which could take anywhere between six months and a year for each painting,” says the self-taught artist. Most of his artwork is done in the silence of the night. “I spent several sleepless ones on ‘Manna’. It was taxing on my health, but I still recall the process with fondness,” says the 31-year-old, who has a degree in Computer Engineering.
Over the past two years, Tamar’s works have been displayed as part of group exhibitions in the Oxford Town Hall, U.K., Carrousel du Louvre, Paris, Montreux Art Gallery, Switzerland, Castle Hubertendorf, Austria, among other prestigious art galleries across Europe. He is currently working on his solo exhibition in London scheduled next year, and is also planning to hold one in India. “Nothing is for sure, but I would love to exhibit in Chennai.”
Tamar’s first solo exhibition was in 2010, in Iconart, Hyderabad. The show travelled to Mumbai and Delhi over the following two years, by the end of which he was already in London. “Most of what I do is rooted in my upbringing — the spiritual and moral exposure I received in childhood. My parents {both IAS officers} let me think outside the box, let me make decisions; they wouldn’t have had a problem even if I had become a full-time artist,” he says.
Being in the art bowl of the world for two years now, Tamar observes, “There is a big boom in the underground art scene in Europe. That apart, many are taking to traditional portrait and figurative paintings, rather than futuristic and post-modern genre. This trend excites me.”
As far as India is concerned, he says, “I see many taking up art as more than just a hobby. There is a visible change in the accessibility to art techniques and materials, which is good.”
