About
SUDIPTA Karmakar’s works are atmospheric and combine a unique accuracy of observation with remarkable technical precision. He has a deep and intuitive understanding of the special advantages of this fluid and sensitive medium for capturing the feel of a particular place or moment and conveys a sense of mystery and romance through sensitive forms and tones. In Karmakar’s oeuvre there is none of the problematic confusion between tradition and the avant-grade which characterises the works of so many contemporary Indian artists. Instead, he reinvents the glorious tradition of the watercolour and, in doing so, re-evaluates the tradition such that it is no longer opposed to modernity.
He paints very carefully though, with a touch, a precision, a preciousness that is in keeping with tradition. As mentioned earlier, Karmakar is able to coherently handle the simultaneous existence of a variety of visual materials. When drawing on multiple references, some from within a tradition, others from lived experience, it becomes a question of balancing the cultural and the personal. He can successfully mix recognizable cultural references with idiosyncratic ones and is, thus, able to fashion a vocabulary that, while referencing and maintaining tradition, also betrays his own experiences while revealing the act of appropriation, alteration, and addition.
He paints very carefully though, with a touch, a precision, a preciousness that is in keeping with tradition. As mentioned earlier, Karmakar is able to coherently handle the simultaneous existence of a variety of visual materials. When drawing on multiple references, some from within a tradition, others from lived experience, it becomes a question of balancing the cultural and the personal. He can successfully mix recognizable cultural references with idiosyncratic ones and is, thus, able to fashion a vocabulary that, while referencing and maintaining tradition, also betrays his own experiences while revealing the act of appropriation, alteration, and addition.
Some Memorable Moments
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