SANAT KAR
Born, 1935, West Bengal
Diploma in Painting, CGAC, (1950-55)
A majority of Sanat Kar's works are surrealistic. They have a curious dream-like appearance, which approaches nightmarish. His distorted figures are barely recognizable, leaving a rather uncomfortable residue. As a result, his oeuvre hover over the edge of reality and doesn't ever arrive. His work symbolizes the mysteries of life to which there are often no answers.
Kar maintains a low profile but paintings are an eloquent testimony to his talent. He uses tempera most often in his work Kar's palette – mauve, dark green, browns, magentas and greys – buttress the pervasive darkness. He cleverly uses chiaroscuro to achieve his gloomy atmospheres. A favorite motif is the sea: an angry grey green out of which arise men and women as if just born, still with the placental fluid obscuring their faces. A large number of the creatures are amphibious, showing the all-pervading influence of water on our lives and the fear that it can generate. But of course, along with the grotesque and macabre, birth and death, the beginning and the end of the cycle of life hold endless fascination for Kar.
The artist lives and works in Kolkata.
Select Solo Exhibitions
2006 The Lyrical Mudra, ArtsIndia, New York
2006 Akarprakar, Kolkata
2002-03 Retrospective – Bronzes and Prints, Birla Academy of Art and Culture, Kolkata and Mumbai
Select Group Exhibitions
2003 Manifestations, organized by Delhi Art Gallery, World Trade Centre, Mumbai and Delhi Art
Gallery, New Delhi
2000 Bengal Foundation, Dhaka.
1990 Helpage 1990, Mumbai
1988 Festival of India exhibitions, Takaoka Municipal Museum of Art & Meguro Museum of Art, Japan
1985 Indian Printmaking, JG, Bombay
1983 India in Print, Koninklijk Institute Vorde, Amsterdam