12 Masters is a sequel to Visions, which I put together at the onset of my curatorial debut in 1986. While Visions concentrated only on four artists, 12 Masters delves into the works of eight additional artists, incorporating generational, gender and media variations, aiming to make the exposition more comprehensive. As CIMA completes three decades, we revisit earlier concerns and pose some new ones. This is also a way to re-contextualize earlier investigations in new light. The idea is to broaden the ambit and provide the generation of today with an opportunity to witness and experience visual history as it evolves, shapes and unravels new territories.

We have tried to group the 12 artists along the path of ideas, and have, thus, divided the exhibition into three phases.

Phase One begins with elements of fantasy, gradually moving into the realm of the subliminal. While Ganesh Pyne leads you into his profound inner world of fantasy and deep contemplation, Arpita Singh, through her vibrant exposures, presents a feminine perspective on life. A student of Sailoz Mookerjea, Arpita is a brilliant painter, moving from an early abstract phase to a vibrant figurative exploration in later years. We have tried to capture both.

Shreyasi Chatterjee, a product of the late 1980s and 1990s, through her post-modern delving, takes us on a fascinating journey through her meandering landscapes, shattering barriers of time, space and practice. She reinvents the language and composition of medieval miniature painting and kantha-making with a 21st-century parlance. Her subtle, nuanced language, replete with humour, references and innuendos, is as engaging as it is enchanting.

Sushen Ghosh, on the other hand, leads you to a subliminal world of unalloyed abstraction, fomented by music and pure numbers. His works are sophisticated, thought provoking, and deeply meditative.

Phase Two introduces the tenets of existential crises and real life. It is a gradual journey through ideas of neorealism (of the late 1940s and 1950s) and magic realism explored by Bikash Bhattacharjee, to social realist sentiments expressed by Jogen Chowdhury, Meera Mukherjee and Jaya Ganguly. Jaya, from her early days, has always propounded strong emotions against a misogynistic world. Her sentiments arise from a strong feminist perspective, from the violent obstruction and ultimate rape of everything that a woman treasures, believes in and aspires to. Meera’s works, on the other hand, reverberate with deep empathy for subaltern communities and are charged with emotional vibrations. Her works are passionate and acutely sensitive, reflecting deep respect and faith in indigenous cultures, their sensual beauty and belief systems.

Jogen’s works have deep sociopolitical references, and emanate from his profound concerns for the hapless, portraying the cruel consequences of life and man’s hopeless inability to control his own destiny. Jogen’s art simmers with deep social awareness. Bikash, on the other hand, was enchanted by the neorealist films of Vittorio De Sica, and a lot of his art is about the brutal world of the neglected and the abused. His amazing sympathy for women is palpable in many of his works; no Indian artist has depicted women as sensually and sympathetically as Bikash has. As he once remarked, in an interview, “I have no dream world; my world always concerns the real.”

We then move to Phase Three of 12 Masters, with the works of the sculptor, Sarbari Roy Chowdhury, graphics and bronzes by Somnath Hore, and conclude with the graphics and temperas by Lalu Prasad Shaw and Sanat Kar. This phase takes the viewer through a journey that unravels the sensitive, subtle personal idioms of four of Bengal’s finest artists.

Together, they culminate in an epic, three-part serial of 12 Masters.

This exhibition brings together works from several private collections, and is our homage to artists and art lovers on the occasion of CIMA completing three decades. I wish to convey my deep gratitude to the entire art community, who have, together, made our journey possible.

Rakhi Sarkar

Director & Curator
CIMA – Centre of International Modern Art
Kolkata
December 2023