Purnendu Mandal’s solo show, Urban Emotions, reflects city life and emotional narratives.
Purnendu Mandal’s solo show, Urban Emotions, was unveiled on April 7, 2026, in Mumbai’s Jahangir Art Gallery. The weeklong show was a compelling exploration of the psychological landscape of city life. Through fragmented forms, layered textures and bold color fields, Mandal captures the rhythm and contradictions of contemporary existence. The works do not merely depict cityscapes—they embody them. Noise and stillness, chaos and calm, movement and pause coexist in his canvases. The result is an immersive experience that mirrors the emotional complexity of urban living.
Kolkata Memory
A particularly intimate body of work emerges in his Kolkata Series, inspired by his personal memories and experiences of the city. Done in oil on canvas, these paintings evoke Kolkata’s distinctive atmosphere—its tramlines, glowing streetlights, rain-soaked reflections, and vibrant street life.
Through deft brushwork and bright colour palettes, Mandal captures both the movement of the city and the quiet poetry embedded within everyday moments. Each canvas becomes a dialogue between memory and place, reflecting the evolving spirit of Kolkata.
Mandal’s work is rooted in the observation of contemporary life, particularly the layered complexity of urban environments. His artistic approach is fluid, shifting between semi-realistic representation, abstraction, and impressionistic expression. Each subject dictates its own visual language, allowing his compositions to remain dynamic and deeply personal. Cities, streets and fleeting everyday moments serve as his primary inspiration.
Through these, he examines emotional states of solitude, energy, hope and silence. Rather than documenting reality, Mandal interprets it—transforming architecture, movement and human presence into expressive visual narratives.
In his recent works, he introduces symbolic motifs such as the sacred bull and abstract interpretations of the Banaras Ghats. These elements weave spiritual and cultural dimensions into his otherwise urban-focused practice, creating a dialogue between modern existence and timeless traditions.
Collector’s Perspective
For collectors, Mandal’s work offers both aesthetic and conceptual depth. His paintings resonate with the universal experience of urban life while maintaining a unique and recognizable artistic signature. The scale, technique, and thematic cohesion of his series position them as valuable additions to private, corporate, and institutional collections.
These are works that reveal themselves gradually—inviting prolonged engagement and continued interpretation over time.
Born in 1980 in Raigarh, Chhattisgarh, Mandal graduated from the Government College of Art & Craft, Kolkata (University of Calcutta), where he completed his Bachelor of Visual Arts in 2003. Currently, Mandal lives and works in Raigarh.
Over the past two decades, he has done 31 solo exhibitions, 70 group shows and participated in numerous national and international exhibitions. His works are in private collections across countries including the United States, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, Italy and Australia.
