Rakhee Roy
In the artist’s own words
|
My
high pillared stupendous ancestral house in North Kolkata where I had spent
my initial years was situated on a road which was named after my great
grandfather Sri Mohesh Chandra Nayaratna. He had been the principal of
Sanskrit College, CIE and received the title of Mohamohapadya. His eldest son
Sri Monmothonath Bhattacharjee was first Indian accountant general and a
great friend of Swami Vivekananda. Sri Mohesh Chandra’s youngest son Sri
Mohimanath Bhattacharjee was an Ishan Scholar (ICS) District Magistrate and a
Collector. I
mention these personalities because they were framed in oil canvases that
hung with pride in the corridor and staircase of our house, which created a
great impression on my tender years. Their eyes and postures instilled or
stirred my artistic sensibility perhaps right from those days. I spent my formal student life on the
wheels; moving from one place to other due to my father’s professional
compulsion. Perhaps, this helped me in having the perspective and insight of
varied culture and diversities of life. Painting
had been my passion from early on while studying in Pratt Memorial, Kolkata. |
Thereafter we moved to
Vishakhapatnam where I majored in Psychology from St. Joseph. After graduation
I turned towards Fine Arts. I studied the human form, pursued model sketching
for five years and had my work exhibited
in a number of places. From realistic to fantasy, my artistic philosophy has
centered around the environment. Al
Gore’s Inconvenient Truth on the issue of global warming had moved me.
My first solo exhibition at Birla Academy (Kolkata) 2010 dwelled on that theme.
Nature, humans and other
forms of lives around them have been an obsession. The entwining of these has
been so intriguing that I continue to replete my canvases with them. Destruction
of nature, erosion of the environment pains me and I feel responsible to offer
a humble protest against such acts.
The theme of my paintings in
this assortment is thus titled “In Quest of Green”.
I have travelled to China,
Europe and East Asia to understand and absorb the heritage art of these places.
“Through nature the divine speaks to us
If only we care to listen….
The green is making way
For so called
development…
Its continuous
scuffle between
Knowledge and Wisdom.”
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