A painting by Saklat

Katayun Saklat’s exhibition of current works at Gallery K2 is a happy mix of light, colour, myth and fantasy. Saklat is a stained glass artist and she has painted with oils on canvas these backlit windows with colour-saturated decorative panes. The paintings, which are of desolate churches, have for their only denizens stray dogs, leaping cats and even owls, adding a touch of mystery to these images with jewel colours. Even more strange is the lone boy lama with the third eye lost in his dreams and fantasy world. The blaze of light leaves a lasting impression.

At a time when many claim they have revived the kantha, Akar Prakar’s two-day exhibition of kanthas (May 12-13) made under the direction of Meera Mukherjee came as an eye-opener. From 1970 Mukherjee used to cast her bronzes at Elachi in Narendrapur. During casting season she would move from her home in Bhowanipore to this village. She would ask the little children of the village to take up paint and brush. Their paintings were simple and were drawn from life around them. These paintings were very close to the kanthas made by the village women, and this gave Mukherjee the idea of asking them to recreate these with needle and thread. Some of these colourful kanthas were on display here to celebrate Mukherjee’s birth anniversary along with her drawings and sculpture. Maitreyi Chatterjee and Adip Dutta, who knew the sculptor, spoke about her on May 12, and Kishore Chatterjee sang her favourite Rabindrasangeet. The goodly gathering testified to the respect with which the sculptor is still held.

Ritendra Roy’s paintings remind one of Gaganendranath’s angular architectural drawings, if only in colour. His exhibition at Aakriti art gallery has the rather elaborate title of Progress of Non-Abstract Geometry, although these works are not much different from his earlier ones. His best works are his architectural drawings of the innards of highrise buildings with paint dripping vertically. Roy has also painted various forms, pitcher-shaped, reflecting the pattern of a cobbled street and geometrical contours. He blends several shades together to create a marbled effect. But whenever he introduces extraneous elements such as human beings the balance goes awry.

Galleries there still are a dime a dozen in Calcutta, but magazines devoted to the art market few. Art News & Views is a rare one being brought out regularly from the city by Chisel Crafts. It is small, well-produced and packed with news about the art market. The accent is on contemporary Indian art but there are interesting titbits on international auctions of everything from wine to contemporary Chinese art and antiques and interviews with artists. The latest is about Jamini Roy and his different phases. If only the editing were smarter.