Important Notice

Born in 1971, in Sodepur, West Bengal, Rajib Chowdhury is a Baroda based painter. Though Rajib trained in painting, (he did his bachelor's in painting from Govt. college of Arts and Crafts, Kolkata in 1996) his interest in printmaking encouraged him to do a post diploma in Graphics from the Faculty of Fine Arts, Baroda in 1999.

Printmaking has seriously influenced his style of work and it is often evident in his paintings.... Born in 1971, in Sodepur, West Bengal, Rajib Chowdhury is a Baroda based painter. Though Rajib trained in painting, (he did his bachelor's in painting from Govt. college of Arts and Crafts, Kolkata in 1996) his interest in printmaking encouraged him to do a post diploma in Graphics from the Faculty of Fine Arts, Baroda in 1999.

Printmaking has seriously influenced his style of work and it is often evident in his paintings. Having earlier worked in several media like oil, gouache, and watercolors, Rajib has found acrylic to be his preferred media for the last couple of years.' Acrylic is also a good media in terms of longitivity and good maintenance of one painting' says the artist.

Believing in experimentation, Rajib has used different images and various approaches at different periods of time ever since he has started painting. Yet, in totality the core of his works remains the same. The artist believes that his work is a means of expression of happiness and not of sorrow. The artist believes in creating a visual to emote his happiness to the viewer. There is enough of sadness around one and it is through Rajib's work he wishes to remove himself from that reality and create a comfort zone. One may call it fantasy but it encompasses joy and fulfillment. In accordance to his nature, the works try to touch a level of fantasy, a stage beyond the reality of the present and existing yet not unimaginable.

Rajib's work is human oriented in terms of the figurative and in sense of the experience. That each living moment is a reality, an experience and interaction with other people is important part of one life, and this translates into all of the artists work. Current events in the society are people oriented and the use of text in his paintings encores this sentiment. Even if the human figure is not actually present in a work, in the experience he is. The assorted images are an indication of his presence. Even messages and morals from epics like the Mahabharat in a contemporary setting give raise to some of Rajib's paintings.

Often taking references from photographic images from the net or magazines, the artist incorporates these images by transferring them on the canvas and then redoing and over painting then to form an integral part of the picture. Several times the transferred picture is rarely visible due to the artist's transformation of the image. It is the result of this blend of the photographic image with the other elements that lend Rajibs work a persona of its own. The planning part of a work begins from the selection of an image and then the thinking and creative process begins. Moreover, the result is a picture of harmonized colours and reflections.

Being a nature lover, Rajib has never had a dearth of sources for his work. The artist's love for the season has been depicted in a series of acrylic works titled ' Rain'. The main theme of these works is to highlight the delight, the joy and the anxiety typical of this season. In these works, the artist has used texture to create the visual effect of rain. Textured backgrounds serve as a platform the central image projecting the protagonist. Be it a frog, a girl or a group of children playing in the water. A cityscape; or a man walking in the rain wearing a raincoat. In this series, the artist has captured the varied moods evoked by the season and the result is enhanced because of the artists close affinity to these emotions. One work from this series, a girl facing the rain is actually an image from a Satyajit Ray movie 'Pathar Panchali'. Be it the rain or the innocence of nature, Rajib's paintings is a clear resonance of the feeling of joy that accompanies these elements.

Rajib is the recipient of the AIFACS award (1998,99), The Gujarat State Lalit Kala Academy, 1998 and the Bombay Art Society Award, 1999. He has also been awarded the National Scholarship from the Ministry of Human Resource Development in 1996.\The artist has participated in several group shows including the Harmony Art Show since 2000. His upcoming shows include a group show, Feb Show 2004, at the ABS Gallery, Baroda and a solo show at the Jehangir Art Gallery in May this year. Rajib's works are in several collections in India, Israel, Belgium, France and U.K.

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