This is Bimal Das Gupta’s first major solo exhibition in 30 years, showcasing works from 1940s to 1995.
‘Bimal Das Gupta: Tutelage – An Ode to a Legend’ is a pathbreaking exhibition on the works of India’s first abstractionist, Bimal Das Gupta (1917–1995), to be held in New Delhi this November 9-10, 2024. Presented by Dhoomimal Gallery and Gallery Silver Scapes, the show brings a long overdue spotlight on a deserving master, hailed as the first abstractionist of the country, as his earliest works in the genre date back to the 1940s. This will be his first major solo exhibition in 30 years, showcasing works from key periods of his spanning from the 1940s to 1995, when he passed away in a road accident. The exhibition is to be accompanied by a publication featuring essays on Bimal Das Gupta and his art by some of the top art critics of the country.
A popular artist in his lifetime, Bimal Das Gupta counted former Prime Ministers such as Inder Kumar Gujral and V. P. Singh among his patrons. While Gujral inaugurated his solo show at the IIC in 1986-87, Singh, after stepping down as the Prime Minister of India in November 1990, took to painting and turned to none other than Das Gupta to learn the art.
Much before any other artist or artist collectives essayed modern abstractionism in the country, Bimal Das Gupta was beginning to experiment with the same in New Delhi in the 1940s. An alumnus of the Government College of Art and Craft, Kolkata, Das Gupta shifted to New Delhi early on in his career, where he worked as an art director with the British war magazine called Victory. It was in New Delhi that he pioneered abstractionism in watercolour and acrylic, after an allergy to oil paints forced him to give up the medium. He was also one of the earliest Bengali artists to explore abstractionism. In those days, artists of the rather culturally rich community tended to veer towards figurative, realistic, mythological and folk subjects for their art. This never-before-seen selection throws spotlight on the evolution of the oeuvre of an artist known as much for his artistic genius as for his generosity to fellow as well as then upcoming artists such as Paresh Maity and Sanjay Bhattacharya, to name a few.
Das Gupta infused his works with an energy that speaks to the collectors to this day. His abstract renditions of the underwater world, of the cosmos and even tenets of the Tantra philosophy are imbued with raw power of the essence of the universe, whether executed in acrylics, watercolours or mixed media. A devotee of the earth colours, he did not shy from experimenting, and created unusual combinations of colours on his canvases to get some stunning results.
With his pioneering experiments in abstraction, he set the tone for the next generation of Indian artists to follow and explore in their own unique ways. His USP lay in exploring a quintessentially Indian and personalised variety of abstractionism, as opposed to the then popular inspiration of European modernism.
