Over the past two decades, Delhi-based artist Sudip Roy has produced more than 100 works documenting different facets of life. His works in divergent media are now on display at a month-long retrospective at Art Positive Gallery here in Lado Sarai.
According to Sudip, when he broke the news to his parents that he wanted to make a career in the then uncertain world of art, they were vehemently opposed to his decision. But Sudip was keen to carve a niche for himself in the competitive field. “During my initial years, I had to struggle a great deal and faced quite a few hurdles. As I could not afford imported drawing paper, I used to get second hand newsprint in bulk from baitak khana in Kolkata. Today’s city-based youths are lucky because they can afford to buy expensive imported papers and colour. There is big boom in the art world and a number of youngsters are taking up a career as an artist.”
Sudip’s luck changed overnight when erstwhile National School of Drama director Ebrahim Alkazi, who is also an art connoisseur, saw one of his art works in London. “Alkazi immediately sent me a fax praising me for my work. He invited me to Delhi and helped in hosting my first exhibition in a prominent gallery in Connaught Place in the 1990s. Since then I have settled down in the Capital and created a great body of works. And have derived inspiration from different styles of art, particularly the Bengal School of Art.”
“The exhibition is featuring my lifelong works,” says Sudip. Along with an installation, the paintings and drawings have travelled to Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Kolkata. Billed as a special retrospective, it takes a close look on the journey and transformation of his art. The exhibition features a variety of paintings in water colours and wash, charcoal and pastels, drawings and prints and mixed media work besides oil paintings. In his recent abstract series, Sudip has used copper and steel to give the work a sculptural feel. His impressionistic renderings include some architectural imagery of old mansions and his portraits evoke feelings of love, sensuousness and nostalgia.
A week-long exhibition is also on at Visual Arts Gallery of India Habitat Centre here.
