‘Re-Figuring’ at Emami Art
A compelling new exhibition titled Re-Figuring is currently on view at Emami Art in Kolkata, bringing together ten contemporary visual artists whose diverse practices interrogate the evolving language of figuration. Running from April 25 to June 21, 2025, the show features an eclectic mix of painting, sculpture, graphic drawing, video, and photography. Each work in the exhibition engages with a central thematic inquiry: what does a figure truly represent or objectify?
The artists participating in Re-Figuring—Bholanath Rudra, Janhavi Khemka, Swastik Pal, Priti Roy, Santanu Debnath, Sayanee Sarkar, Kushan Bhattacharya, Tapas Biswas, Avishek Das and Ushnish Mukhopadhyay—are united not by medium or method, but by a shared commitment to reimagining the human and symbolic figure in the visual arts.
The range of works on display spans from detailed hyper-figurative representations to fragmented, semi-abstract expressions that blur the line between body and form, identity, and symbol. This multiplicity reflects the artists’ individual explorations of how figures—whether human, mythical, or metaphorical—carry meaning in today’s visual culture.
Rudra and Janhavi Khemka delve into the emotional and psychological weight of the figure, using richly layered compositions and immersive detail. Their works act as portals into inner worlds, mapping memory, vulnerability, and desire through meticulous brushwork and complex imagery.
Swastik Pal and Sayanee Sarkar, by contrast, approach figuration through disruption and abstraction. Their creations often appear fractured or incomplete, evoking a sense of dislocation that mirrors contemporary anxieties around identity, visibility, and digital distortion. Through these interruptions, the viewer is prompted to question the limits of recognition and the instability of form.
Sculptural and graphic elements come to the fore in the works of Tapas Biswas and Santanu Debnath, who play with volume, void, and surface to reconfigure traditional notions of presence and materiality. Their pieces invite tactile engagement, challenging the viewer to consider the figure as something that can be both physically encountered and intellectually dissected.
Meanwhile, Priti Roy and Kushan Bhattacharya explore the intersections of figuration and narrative, drawing from folk iconography, personal memory, and urban mythology. Their works carry a storytelling impulse, embedding the figure within layered visual chronicles that bridge the personal and the collective.
Ushnish Mukhopadhyay’s video and photographic contributions offer a documentary lens, capturing the figure in motion, repetition, and transformation. His work questions how image-making itself can shape the perception of the body, and how the act of viewing becomes part of the figure’s meaning.
Together, the ten artists present a textured, multifaceted dialogue that defies singular interpretation. Re-Figuring is not simply an exhibition about the human form—it is an interrogation of representation itself, a reflection on how the figure can be used to project, obscure, distort, or celebrate identity and existence.
Curated with a sensitivity to the interplay of media and meaning, the exhibition provides a rich sensory and intellectual experience. The layout encourages fluid movement between works, allowing connections to emerge organically while also highlighting each artist’s unique voice.
As figuration continues to evolve in contemporary art, Re-Figuring offers a timely meditation on its possibilities and paradoxes. It stands as both a tribute to and a critique of the figure, reminding us that in the hands of today’s artists, the body remains a potent site of meaning, resistance, and reinvention.
