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October 2002 New York- Bose Pacia Gallery presents a solo exhibition of new works by Jogen Chowdhury from November 7th through December 21st 2002. The gallery is located at 508 West 26th Street on the 11th Floor, in the Chelsea district of New York City. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 12-6pm and by appointment. There will be an opening reception on Thursday, November 7th from 6 to 8pm. The public is invited.
Jogen Chowdhury's art appears to speak softly. "Stillness is a form of speed while not in force," he says. Yet the intricately rendered figures that compromise much of his work vibrate with great intensity for, "it is stillness that can create greater tension in a work of art." So lies quietude born of action, of inward motivation. "Life is a mystery and it is inexplicable. A given situation can only be explained," he says. It is with his truly unique style of pen, ink, and pastel that he then delves into a subject, making remarks towards edification.
Lately it seems these marks have questioned relation, what it means to relate, how it is done. In the exhibition men and women share the painting surface (along with the bed they rest on), coexisting, touching and smiling. Their crosshatched ink marks seeming to pulse with recognition. Sweeping black negative space pushing them forward, towards the viewer and closer together within the plane. In other works, a close cropped figure is wounded both emotionally and physically by the proximity of contact, laid bare for the viewer to see, exposed. Chowdhury pushes that alienation then further, finally decapitating and maiming the subjects; a severed head rests on a pillow, an armless hand lays like jewelry under a department store counter, a cropped torso, a distended scar.
Chowdhury describes his work as a type of "magical realism," and in the manner of similarly classed authors, paints with a wink and a nod to the past, in this case the Progressive Movement in Indian art that preceded him. But also like those authors he has an acute sense of his own place, his own value, and his own agenda to fulfill. The highly intimate works in this exhibition combine to illuminate these concerns masterfully. The engagement of humanity married to a lyrical style creating paintings and drawings of great wit, sensitivity, and formal success.
Born in 1939 Jogen Chowdhury first studied at the Government College of Art and Craft, Calcutta graduating in 1960. He was later awarded a French government scholarship to the Ecole Nationale des Beaux-Arts, Paris where he worked from 1965-67. He has held solo exhibitions all over the world and has won numerous awards including the Prix France and the Havana Biennial Award. His work has been exhibited at the Hirshhorn Museum, Washington DC and The Royal Academy of Arts, London, among others. Chowdhury lives and works in Santiniketan, India. This is his first solo exhibition with Bose Pacia Modern.