Beyond figurative expression A restless pursuit to seek and understand the unknown marks the works of Manoj Roy. His experiments with colours and strokes are part of his attempt to find meaning from the chaos and confusion in the world around him. The artist often portrays forms that are ugly and violent, in bold colours and strokes, picturising a world under a threat that is physical, painful and very palpable. Touch and Go, the ongoing exhibition of his recent works, showcases the power of his painstakingly-crafted visuals. Guns, turbans, anonymous faces and a vivid crimson recur through the series on show; animals are portrayed in a mysterious light, life-giving acts of a sower and a devotee share wall-space with images of 21st century terror. Yet, his paintings appear to be bathed in a surreal light that provides them an almost dreamlike quality, elevating them to a level more sublime than could be attributed to the mere forms that occupy his canvases. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of his works lies in the way they light up the artist’s search for expression. While some of them are figure-studies in the broadest sense of the term, there are definite attempts to rise above the figurative element and assimilate into the works a complete and comprehensive world view. Event: An exhibition of recent works by Manoj Roy When: Till July 5; 4 pm - 8 pm Where: Birla Academy of Art & Culture, 4th floor

Art

Till August 1 (except Sundays and public holidays) at CIMA Gallery; Mondays: 3 pm - 7 pm, Tuesdays - Saturdays: 2 pm - 7 pm: Summer Show 2009. Featuring works by Rashmi Bagchi Sarkar, Sumitro Basak, Shreyasi Chatterjee, Jogen Chowdhury, Sougata Das, Anita Gopal, Farhad Hussain, Paresh Maity, Ganesh Pyne, Satyajit Roy, Suhas Roy, Lalu Prosad Shaw and many other artists from across India. Till July 5 at Birla Academy of Art & Culture, 4th floor; 4 pm - 8 pm: An exhibition of recent works of Manoj Roy. Till July 19 at Aakriti Art Gallery (12/3A Hungerford Street, #22893027, 11 am - 7 pm, Sundays closed), Akar Prakar (P238 Hindustan Park, #24642617, 2 pm - 7 pm, Sundays closed) and The Seagull Arts and Media Resource Centre (36C S.P. Mukherjee Road, #24556942, 2 pm - 8 pm daily): On the occasion of K.G. Subramanyan’s 85th birthday, Aakriti Art Gallery, Akar Prakar and The Seagull Foundation for the Arts present Recent Works by K.G. Subramanyan — a new collection of canvases, reverse paintings, gouaches on paper and terracotta works. July 3 - 7 at Chemould Art Gallery, 12F Park Street; 2 pm - 7 pm: An exhibition of paintings by Sakti Pada Jana, Asit Ghara and Pradip Maiti. Till July 3 at Gaganendra Pradarshashala; 2 pm - 8 pm: The first solo exhibition of paintings by Sumal Sengupta. Till July 3 at Academy of Fine Arts, Central Gallery; 3 pm - 8 pm: Bangiya Sangeet Parishad’s 13th annual art exhibition. Till July 3 at Academy of Fine Arts, West Gallery; 3 pm - 8 pm: Spectacles - an exposition, an exhibition of the works of contemporary artists Samir Bhandari and Sounetra Chatterjee. Till July 3 at Academy of Fine Arts; 3 pm - 8 pm: Paintings and drawings by Biki Banerjee, Debabrata Singha, Surajit Chakraborty, Samir Dhar, Pintu Sengupta, Manash Mondal, Santibrata Karmakar, Sushanta Baral, Subhra Chakraborty, Soma Dey and Niloy Kanti Biswas. Till July 8 at Academy of Fine Arts, North Gallery; 3 pm - 8 pm: The maiden exhibition by Spectrum, a group of contemporary artists. Till July 9 at Chitrakoot Art Gallery, 55 Gariahat Road, #2475 2275; 3 pm - 8 pm: An exhibition of paintings by Aloke Roy and Tandra Bera. Till July 10 at Genesis Art Gallery, 8B Middleton Street; 2 pm - 7 pm: Monsoon Show — an exhibition of paintings by Gautam Mukherjee, Bratin Khan, Shyamal Mukherjee, Dhananjay Mukherjee, Subrata Das, Partha Pratim Deb, Sukanta Das, Arunabha Karmakar and others. Till July 10 (except Monday) at Shree Art Gallery, 11 Gurusaday Road, Kusum Apartment, Flat no. 61, #30222040, 30535982; 3 pm - 7 pm: An exhibition of paintings by Ashis Mondal. Till July 15 (except Sundays) at Ganges Art Gallery, 33A Jatin Das Road, #2465 3212; 11 am - 7 pm: Trying to Make Sense of it All — an exhibition of the recent works by Somit Gupta, Debraj Goswami, Rajiba Lochan Pani and Pampa Panwar. Till July 15 (except Sundays) at Gallery K2, Supra Court, 35 Lansdowne Terrace, #2465 1444; 11 am - 7 pm: Sudipta Karmakar’s watercolours on the wonders of India. Till July 29 (except Sundays) at Experimenter, 2/1 Hindusthan Road, #24630465/ 40012289; 11.30 am - 7.30 pm: Experimenter presents SEZ Who? a unique activism-based collaborative art project, curated by Tushar Joag. This is a project led by a group of artists and Experimenter exploring the impact and rationale of setting up Special Economic Zones in India. Till July 31 at Idiyas Gallery, 15 Dover Road, #65508418; 10.30 am - 7 pm: Sensorial Realities, an exhibition of paintings by Subrata Gangopadhyay, Suhas Roy, Prakash Karmakar, Shyamal Mukherjee, Samir Paul, Bratin Khan, Sanatan Dinda, Gourango Beshai, Sibsaday Chaudhuri, Atin Basak and others.

DRAMA

Till July 17 at Ramgopal Mancha, Howrah; 6.30 pm: A theatre festival, in aid of cyclone victims, organised by Ramgopal Mancha Natyakendra. Today: Ramanimohan by Nandipat. July 3 at Girish Mancha & July 4 at Tapan Theatre; 6.30 pm: Swapnasuchana will stage Biddho Aakash. Direction: Sudipta Sarkar. July 3 at Academy of Fine Arts; 6.30 pm: Ganakrishti presents Jhara Samayer Kabya. Playwirght: Sumitra Bandyopadhyay. Direction: Amitava Dutta. July 4 at Academy of Fine Arts; 3 pm: Natya-Ranga presents the comedy, Dadu Chay Nati Chay. Drama: Surajit Bandyopadhyay. Direction: Swapan Sengupta. July 5 at Academy of Fine Arts; 3 pm: Renaissance will stage Kaal-Kothri, a play in Hindi written by Swadesh Dipak and directed by Aloke Chakravorty. July 5 at Academy of Fine Arts; 7 pm: Ensemble will stage Sonata, an Indian English play, written by Mahesh Elkunchwar and acted and directed by Sohag Sen.

PERFORMING ARTS

July 3 at Rabindra Sadan; 6 pm: Sarathi presents an evening of Tagore songs and poems. Participants: Rakhi Sarkar, Agnibha Bandyopadhyay, Pramit Sen, Partha Mukhopadhyay, Shikha Pal and Suchetana Pal. July 3 at Trincas, 17B Park Street; 8.30 pm: Performance by Plan B with Rila, as part of Trincas’ 50th anniversary celebrations. July 3 at G.D. Birla Sabhagar; 7 pm: Sangeet Ashram presents a sarod recital by Pandit Narendra Nath Dhar, accompanied by Arup Chatterjee on the tabla. July 4 at Sisir Mancha; 6.30 pm: Robi Mon, Santiniketan presents Mukulita Kisholoy (Tagore’s childhood) with reading by Soumitra Chattopadhyay and songs by Shinjini Acharya Majumdar.

POETRY-READING

July 3 at Oxford Bookstore, Park Street; 6.30 pm: Cha Bar and Oxford Bookstore, Calcutta present Eating Poetry — an evening of poetry-reading with Zilka Joseph, author of Lands I Live In. The author will read out food poetry from her work and will be in conversation with chef Shaun Kenworthy.

EXHIBITION

Till July 3 at ICCR, 9A Ho Chi Minh Sarani; 10 am - 7 pm: Pause for a Cause — an exhibition/ sale of ethnic textiles and accessories from all over India, in aid of Concern India Foundation. Till July 4 at Swati Guha’s, 78, Mezanine Floor, Manohar Pukur Road, #24646594; 11 am - 8 pm: Exclusive Puja collection of Dhakai Jamdani, cotton Jamdani, Muslin, Katan silk, Tasar print, Pashmina, Tant print. Till July 30 at P-239/2 Hindustan Park, opp. Basanti Devi College; 11 am - 8 pm: Debasree’s, the designer boutique, hosts its pre-Puja exhibition of traditional sarees along with designer wear in pure tissue with feather and zari weaving, and fabrics from different parts of India.

AUDIO-VISUAL SHOW

July 3 at Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, Vivekananda Hall; 6 pm: The Great Masters of Etawah (Part 1), an audio-visual presentation by Prof. Amlan Dasgupta, assisted by Subhranil Sarkar.

IN CONVERSATION

July 4 at Weavers Studio Centre for the Arts, 94 Ballygunge Place, #2460 4245; 6.30 pm: An evening with Girish Karnad, in conversation with Sangeeta Datta, film historian and director of the film, Life Goes On, in which Girish Karnad plays the main protagonist.

DRAMATIZED READING

July 5 at Weavers Studio Centre for the Arts, 94 Ballygunge Place, #2460 4245; 6.30 pm: A dramatized reading of Euripedes’ Medea by Biplab Dasgupta, Daminee Mukherjee and Sujoy Prosad Chatterjee, as a tribute to thespian Ajitesh Bandyopadhyay. Introduction: Samik Bandopadhyay.All those who wish events to be included in this column should write not less than a week ahead to: Time out, The Telegraph,6, Prafulla Sarkar Street, Calcutta-700 001; Fax: 2234-8244

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All those who wish events to be included in this column should write not less than a week ahead to:

Time out, The Telegraph, 6, Prafulla Sarkar Street, Calcutta-700 001;
Fax: 2234-8244