Sajal Sarkar

Biography

Born and brought up in Kolkata, Sajal Sarkar graduated in Painting from the Government College of Art and Craft there in 1989. Thereafter, he spent four years working at the Lalit Kala Akademi Studio, Kolkata, as a practicing artist before he moved to Baroda to pursue a Post Diploma in Graphics (Printmaking) in 1993. The choice of graphics was a deliberate step taken to enable the artist to experiment in other media. Sarkar’s earlier works were typically academic with a touch of surrealism, but his oeuvre changed slowly after he graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts at M.S. University, Baroda. The range of references widened and a new interest in contemporary visual experimentation led the artist to include references from photographs and magazines, enabling him to create canvases with a totally different approach to those he painted in Kolkata.

However, since Sarkar started painting, the male nude form has fascinated him and has dominated his canvas. While painting the male figure, the artist neither wishes to be vulgar nor sensational. On the contrary, he uses this form as a vehicle to express strength and tension. Simple, strong and bold lines create forms infused with colour that are vivacious and very real. The artist tends to draw his male forms in the classical realistic style but this is where the commonality ends. The artist manipulates the image to suit his own convenience. The female form also appears occasionally in Sarkar’s work, but almost always sharing the frame with a male counterpart.

Although the artist prefers oils as his chosen media, he also works with charcoal and a combination of both. Influenced by his experiences with printmaking, Sarkar often adapts the etching look on the surface with the use of charcoal. The artist’s recent works show a lot of experimentation in terms of technique and representation. Progressing with the times, he has used computer generated images in his recent works to create a more vivid representation of the subjects chosen.

Sarkar had his first solo show in 1991, and has had numerous solo shows since. His most recent solo shows include ‘Open Ended’ at Aicon Gallery, Palo Alto, in 2007; and others at Gallery Katyun, Kolkata, in 2006; and Art World, Chennai, in 2005. His work has featured in group shows including 'Signs Taken for Wonders: Recent Art from India and Pakistan' at Aicon Gallery, London, in 2008-09; ‘Modern to Contemporary’ at Gallery Kolkata, Kolkata, in 2007; and ‘Bridges’ at Art Alive, New Delhi, in 2005. The artist was awarded the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant, Canada, in 1996 and again in 2005. He was also awarded the Bendre Husain Scholarship in 1996-97, and a Junior Fellowship from the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India, in 1995-97.