Jiten Hazarika being felicitated. Picture by UB Photos

Feb. 22: Painter Jiten Hazarika, who is popular in Delhi and Mumbai circuits, today said artists in Assam need more exposure and information on current demands for paintings in order to find a market for their work.

Hazarika was felicitated on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Pranab Barua, a pioneer in the field of art who passed away in 2002.

After the felicitation, Hazarika said unlike in Delhi and Mumbai, there are not many in Assam who are willing to spend thousands of rupees on paintings.

“Still, we should inspire people to buy paintings,” said Hazarika, who believes more in the theory of “art for art’s sake” than in “art for people’s sake”.

Hazarika, a retired army engineer who likes to introduce himself as a “born artist”, has an insatiable quest for art.

He graduated in civil engineering, joined the army, rose to the level of a colonel and took voluntary retirement to devote himself to art.

Born in Assam in 1936, Hazarika now lives in Noida.

“Assam provides a fertile ground for an artist. There is a lot of subject matter — trees, hills, different communities, geographical locations and many more,” he said.

As Hazarika stays away from Assam, people here do not get much of an opportunity to see his paintings except for times when they get published in magazines.

Today, a presentation was made on his paintings where Hazarika described the theme and background of some of his paintings.

When the audience asked why women figures dominate his paintings, Hazarika, also an expert on Sanskrit language, explained that he had a natural inclination to explain the tender rasas, as mentioned by the xatras, for which woman is the most appropriate symbol.

Hazarika’s paintings, mostly 3 to 3.5 feet in length and breadth, where colour plays a significant role, are described as “figurative abstract” by some.