July 14 – Sep 30, 2023. Emami Art, Kolkata
‘The Dream of an Idiot’, a survey show of Sibaprasad Karchaudhuri, is curated by Ushmita Sahu and presented by Emami Art. Karchaudhuri is a not-so-widely-known abstract artist from Bengal.
The exhibition follows Karchaudhuri’s journey as a significant Indian artist who has striven to develop a unique abstract language. The gallery displays a large body of his paintings, drawings, prints and
tapestries, along with archival material, many of which are being shown for the first time.
Karchaudhuri shares, “The time, the environment and the state of mind significantly impacted my art practice, choice of materials and recreating forms and figures. In my art journey, I had to pass through
many gateways of styles and shapes mixed with the nuances of primitivism.”
He was attracted to abstract art early on as an Applied Arts student at the Government College of Art and Craft, Calcutta. His tutelage under the legendary Helena Peerenthupa at the newly established
textile design department at NID in 1968,
Karchaudhuri’s notable works are characterized by his subtle experimentation with elementary forms and the use of vibrant colours. He has not entirely abandoned the visible world, but it appears in his
work as reduced abstract forms combined with the sense of place and memory.
“My works revolved in an elliptic orbit centring around the primary forms and figures of the primaeval days, sometimes very near to it and sometimes far away. I wanted to stretch myself out to this area of
unknown mystery, to another reality,” says the artist.
