Asit Poddar Profile   |    Summary "All the sense impressions that the artist has gathered from his experience of the world, all that has delighted him, all that has inspired him, all that has affected him, are expressed in his works. This holds very true for my paintings." It is not enough to say that Asit Poddar is a multifaceted and greatly talented artist. Not only a gifted watercolourist, Poddar is also experienced and very well established in the fields... Read More "All the sense impressions that the artist has gathered from his experience of the world, all that has delighted him, all that has inspired him, all that has affected him, are expressed in his works. This holds very true for my paintings." It is not enough to say that Asit Poddar is a multifaceted and greatly talented artist. Not only a gifted watercolourist, Poddar is also experienced and very well established in the fields of filmmaking, animation, photography, publishing, graphic designing and printmaking. Poddar joined the Calcutta Art College in 1972 and spent five years there learning all that he could possibly absorb, including painting, designing and photography. After graduating in 1977 he was awarded a scholarship to study photography and film animation at the International Animation Institute in Tokyo, Japan where he spent two years from 1980 - 1982. One of Poddar's favourite stories is about his inscribed and autographed copy of Henri Cartier-Bresson's book, "In India". When he was still in college and avidly photographing everything he saw, an exhibition of Bresson's work came to Kolkata. Visiting it, and standing in front of the extremely famous picture of women praying in Kashmir, Poddar remarked to a friend hat he didn't really see what was so great about all of this because he had taken very similar photos himself. Someone standing nearby overheard this and questioned "Really? Do you?" Poddar invited him over to his workspace to see for himself. According to Poddar, the gentleman really appreciated his work and complemented him. That was just before he introduced himself as Bresson himself and presented Poddar with an autographed copy of his book! For this artist, first hand experience was a great source of inspiration. To look into the past - both recent and distant - is a creative process. It is this continuous flow of the past and the present that reflects richly in his paintings. In his works, you can see what he saw in his extensive travels to South Asian and European countries. You can feel the silence he felt on the mountains and revel in the world he sees through his minds eye. His fluid lines and watercolour fills capture everything that Poddar takes in, from the vast expanse of high ominous peaks and deep dark gorges in black and white to the city of Varanasi and the river Ganges in vivid colour. Human figures are missing in the paintings, but it seems like this is part of the artist's effort in his intent to leave a strong imprint in the mind of the viewer. Asit Poddar has had many solo exhibitions and group shows to his credit in India, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan. He has also handled graphic assignments for many art publications, including books on Rabindranath Tagore and Ganesh Pyne. The Bombay Art Society awarded him for his outstanding black and white colour paintings in the year 2000, and amongst his other honours is a Senior Fellowship from the Government of India for his outstanding work in the visual arts. Poddar has had experience with other visual media like film and photography. He has worked with Satyajit Ray and has designed jacket covers of albums for Pt. Ravi Shankar, the Kingston Trio and Ustad Ali Akbar Khan to name a few. Such varied experience has enriched his artistic vision. Asit Poddar lives and works in Kolkata. Read Less    Education 1980-82 International Animation and Photography Institute, Japan 1972-77 Government Art College, Kolkata Exhibitions Selected Solo Exhibitions 2011 'Mindscapes', Galerie Serafin,... Selected Solo Exhibitions 2011 'Mindscapes', Galerie Serafin, Vienna 2010 'Euroscapes', Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai 2008 Kanishka Art Gallery, Kolkata 2007 Educatorio della Provvidenza, Turin, Italy 2007 Cymroza Art Gallery, Mumbai 2007 Chitrakoot Art Gallery, Kolkata 2006 Penzenau Castel, Mereno, Italy 2006 Right Lines Art Gallery, Bangalore 2005 Habiart, Indian Habitat Centre, New Delhi 2005 Hacienda Gallery, Mumbai 2004 House of Lords, London, UK 2004 Artworld, Chennai 2003 Hacienda Art Gallery, Mumbai 2003 Castella Monte, Italy 2003 Cymroza Art Gallery, Mumbai 2002 Chitrakoot Art Gallery, Kolkata 2002 Right Lines Art Gallery, Bangalore 2001 Chitrakala Parisath, Bangalore 2001 Habitat Centre, Delhi 2001 Artists Centre, Mumbai 2000 Genesis Art Gallery, Kolkata 1999 Gallerie La-Ruche, Tokyo, Japan 1997 Kunjeon Art Gallery, South Korea 1996 Koga Art Museum, Ibaraki, Japan 1996 Kunjeon Art Gallery, South Korea 1994 Birla Academy of Art and Culture, Kolkata Selected Group Exhibitions 2010 'Canvas, Paper, Bronze', Academy of Fine Arts, Kolkata Participations 2005 International Art Workshop, Bali Island, Indonesia 2003 Lalit Kala Academy Video Art Workshop, Kolkata 2000 Art Japan Network Grand Show, Japan, Nepal, Italy, Paris 1999 All India Graphics Show, Organized by Gallery Cymroza, Centre of International Modern Art (CIMA), Kolkata, Art Today, New Delhi 1997 Kawanju Biennial, South Korea 1997 Art Culture Symposium, Taipei Modern Art Gallery, Taiwan 1996 National Art Fair, Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi 1993 Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi Honours and Awards 2001 Awarded by the Bombay Art Society, Mumbai 1998 Senior Fellowship from HRD Government of India for outstanding work in Visual Art 1980 Scholarship from Japan 1977 Certificate of Merit from Art College, Kolkata 2001 Awarded by the Bombay Art Society, Mumbai 1998 Senior Fellowship from HRD Government of India for outstanding work in Visual Art 1980 Scholarship from Japan 1977 Certificate of Merit from Art College, Kolkata Read More Read Less Read Less
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