“The Group”: the 40th Annual Exhibition

Atanu Basu

About 41 years ago, in one November winter, “the Five Heroines of Art” held their first-ever exhibition, signaling the birth of “The Group”. Their 40th exhibition was recently held in the Academy of Fine Arts. The 40th exhibition was held after all the five of those “heroines”, namely Mira Mukhopadhyay, Karuna Saha, Shanu Lahiri, Santosh Rohathgi Moitra, and the new-entrant (in 1983), Shyamashree Basu, were no longer with us.

As the last member of the group, Shyamasree Basu was active in her 85 years of life. In her last days, canvas and brush and pallet were her perhaps the only companion. Not only in painting, this group excelled in many other forms and created and left behind many a work that would pass the test of ruthless time. This exhibition aptly documented the creative thought, and feminine urge of expression that made the visit to the exhibition a real memorable one. Shyamasree Basu’s two beautiful works were showcased in this exhibition; there she demonstrated her forte—that is, her passion for abstract art. After finishing her Art school course in the sixties, Shyamashree Basu completed an Art appreciation course conducted by Calcutta University. In 1960-61, people like Arun Basu, Shyamal Dutta Roy, and Sanat Kar founded the SAC group and Shyamasree joined them. Later on, she discontinued her association with this group; she left the said group as she wanted to hold her solo exhibition. She took part in many exhibitions throughout the country. While traveling from Darjeeling to Kashmir and Kullu-Manali, she relentlessly sketched. Her Europe trip also imparted a new dimension to her thought process, grasping many aspects while she visited many exhibitions there, not only painting but other art forms, for example, art forms like sculpture.

Till 1962, her paintings displayed an atmosphere of realism, the form she started breaking in course of time. This breaking of form in her work gradually led to abstraction. One increasingly finds in her paintings greater use of brushing, use of bright colours, and new stylisation.

This exhibition showcased 11 painters and 3 sculptors. Most probably to catch a tough deadline, some of the artists might have been racing against their time as extreme haste was quite visible in some of the exhibits. This trend had reduced the quality of some of the exhibits, which would have appealed to many viewers had this haste been overcome.

Special mention must be made about the works of Alakananda Sen Gupta, Seema Ghosh Bhattacharya, Banasree Khan, Madhusree Muchhal, Tamalika Das Gupta, and Nilima Goel–they did an excellent job. Mahua Bhattachrjee’s work centered around Mythology, the ideas taken from epics are more like illustration; she might have to go an extra mile or two and must muster the art of using forms like space, and tonal variation, to name a few.

Seema Ghosh Bhattacharya used acid-free paper to present her worked named “An Eternity III”, which was very attractive. While her painting quality was commendable, but here and there one would encounter glimpses of graphic quality as well. “Big Vase with Handle” must be her principal object; its treatment and style attain a high standard.

Alakananda Sengupta’s media was coloured terracotta and ceramics. Her work, “I Stand for Palestinians”, a very contemporary theme, deserves a special mention, as it captured the mood of the present-day anguish that humankind was going through.

Tamalika Das Gupta’s canvas in mixed media is very attractive, particularly the piece, “Peace” is distinguished for its depth, which was presented in a simple fashion. Banasree Khan’s bronze sculptures are uniformly charming; a special mention must be made for her work, “Steps Together II”, which was very attractive. Rina Mustafi’s prowess is best reflected in her stormy brushing—but one would be a little disappointed that some of her old self appears to be missing a bit. Minati Nath and Sudakshina Das did a good job.

In this exhibition, the sculptures of Nilima Goel are all uniformly elegant; particular mention must be made for her work, “Folk Memorial”. This piece is modelled in an ancient sculpture.

Madhusree Muchhel showcased her works on oil on canvas; a special mention must go to the piece named “Passion”, which was extremely stimulating. Santwana Dutta, Maitreyee Chatterjee, and Anjali Sengupta also presented their work.

Last, but not the least, the viewers were delighted to see two-dimensional relief work done by none other than Shyamasree Basu.

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Vol 57, No. 3, Jul 14 - 20, 2024