This exhibition in New Delhi celebrates the legacy of abstractionist Bimal Das Gupta

Last updated:Nov 10, 2024 12:00 IST

Nearly thirty years after his death in a car accident in 1995, the exhibition offers an opportunity to restore his legacy

The exhibition ends on Sunday, November 10. (Photo Credits: Instagram)

An exhibition celebrating the legacy of abstractionist Bimal Das Gupta is being held in the national capital. The work, “Bimal Das Gupta: Tutelage – An Ode to a Legend,” showcases an array of master abstractionist art from six decades of his creative career. The two-day exhibition, organized by Dhoomimal Gallery and Gallery Silver Scapes, is currently taking place at Travancore House in New Delhi. It showcases Das Gupta’s daring experiments with acrylic and watercolor, as well as a variety of other untried mediums and their combinations, including gouaches and gouaches. oil pastels, which he adopted after becoming allergic to oil paint.

The exhibition ends on Sunday, November 10.

What was Bimal Das Gupta?

Das Gupta was born in Bengal in 1917 and achieved fame as a landscape painter. After his European tour, he experimented with cubism and ventured into neo-tantrism, which marked the beginning of his abstract phase. Eventually he switched to pure abstraction, which he painted with acrylic and watercolor. He has managed mural projects for Indian pavilions at international fairs in Tokyo and Moscow, in addition to numerous exhibitions at home and abroad.

In 1972, the Sahitya Kala Parishad recognized Das Gupta, and in 1989 he was elected a fellow of the Lalit Kala Akademi.

Nearly thirty years after his untimely death in a car accident in 1995, which left his art somewhat obscure, the exhibition offers an opportunity to restore his legacy by demonstrating the breadth of his creative breakthroughs and impact.

One of the country’s first and most influential abstractionists, the exhibition charts his development from the 1930s, when he initially departed from the figurative styles prevalent in post-independence India, to the final years of his career.

“Due to his untimely death and that of his children in the same accident, his works were somewhat lost for many years. However, in recent years, his works have appeared regularly at auctions and have done quite well,” Dhoomimal Gallery director Uday Jain said in a statement.

“I am very pleased that we have come together at Dhoomimal and Gallery Silver Scapes to pay a fitting tribute to one of the greatest Indian artists, in a show curated by Archana Khare-Ghose,” he added.