Art from Cambodia

Updated on: Tuesday, August 23, 2011

The recently-held art exhibition on Angkor Wat, at the Art Gallery in ITC Sonar, Kolkata was the outcome of an ardent endeavour, to celebrate art for art’s sake. The Angkor Wat workshop was envisaged by the eminent artists, Swaroop Mukerji and Avijit Dutta, to revive the ‘dying concept’ of the ‘Guru-Shishya’ mode of learning, and to embark on a quest, to find resonances between Indian and Cambodian art and cultures.

Under the tutelage of Prabhakar Kolte, art historian and, with the support of Aditya Kumar Bajoria, industrialist, a group of 11 contemporary artists, converged from different parts of India and travelled to Cambodia, to study the temple of Angkor and to record their experience on canvas. The exhibition showcased the works of Chandra Bhattacharya, R Balasubramaniam, Birendra Pani, Pratul Dash, Aloke Bal, George Martin, Sudhanshu Sutar, Binoy Verghese, Dileep Sharma, Avijit Dutta and Swaroop Mukerji.

The evening progressed with host Oindrilla Dutt, enlightening the august assembly on the ‘arduous but fulfilling journey’ that the artists had undertaken to Cambodia. Oindrila elucidated upon the ‘inescapable links’ between Indian and Cambodian ethos and traditions and, India’s contribution towards the preservation of South Asian heritage.

Noted artist Ganesh Haloi inaugurated the exhibition. A lamp lighting ceremony was followed by the release of the book Angkor Wat: An Indian Perspective. Professor Kolte commented that this experiment was an amalgamation of the different approaches towards art and an interpretation of a shared history between India and Cambodia, two culturally connected places.

Painter Swaroop Mukerji, described the whole process as ‘most fascinating’. His beautiful water colours, on the temple captured the essence of the ancient architecture and depicted the artist’s ‘emotional response’ to his subject.

Artist Avijit Dutta highlighted the importance of the gurukul system and rued the lack of such a sociological structure in the contemporary art scene. “Today’s art world has become highly individualistic. India is gradually drifting away from its past, traditional values and knowledge systems,” he added.

“We at the ITC Sonar, under the aegis of WelcomArt have always supported art, especially to nurture upcoming talent or if it is associated with a cause,” said Zubin Songadwala, general manager, ITC Sonar, Kolkata. “It was an opportunity to host a meaningful exhibition to boost the Indian art scenario, and to showcase the works of hugely talented artists,” added Songadwala.

Art from Cambodia

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