Somnath Hore Art of Wounds Mapin Publishing

Somnath Hore Art of Wounds

Atanu Bhattacharya

Sketches, sculptures, paintings, drawings and prints — the works of Somnath Hore reflected on an era of darkness.

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Sketches, sculptures, paintings, drawings and prints — the works of Somnath Hore reflected on an era of darkness.
Sketches, sculptures, paintings, drawings and prints — the works of Somnath Hore reflected on an era of darkness. The historical events of 20th-century Bengal, like the man-made famine of 1943 or the sharecroppers’ agitation of Tebhaga in 1946–47, shaped his art differently and away from the traditional techniques and topics. He couldn’t forget the first-hand experience of human suffering in the forms of starvation, fighting, killings and exploitation, and manifested them in his visual documentations for magazines of the Communist Party. His socialist ideologies, reaction to the social unrest and Naxalist movement gave birth to the paper pulp print series Wounds, in the late 1960s. The artist felt the intense need to translate his many problematic witnessings into art in the form of ‘wounds’. This volume talks about the series, its inception, making and perceptions about and around the main theme. He wanted to reproduce the essence of a cut or injury with his works using printmaking. The work necessitated some intense research and experimentation with the colours red and white, and the light and shadow effect on a three-dimensional model to reach a satisfactory outcome. Reclusive and reluctant to hold exhibitions, unlike other artists, Somnath Hore wanted his art to be accessible to the masses and not simply be limited to drawing rooms and auction halls. He was a close associate of the painter K. G. Subramanyan and the sculptor Ramkinkar Baij, and won many awards and honours including the Lalit Kala Ratna Puraskar and the Padma Bhushan.
This book is based on the dissertation of Atanu Bhattacharya, the graphic artist and painter, on paper pulp prints by Somnath Hore. Bhattacharya’s time at Rabindra Bharati University and the experience of printmaking got him interested in the master artist and the techniques he employed in his works.

Published in association with Akar Prakar, Kolkata and New Delhi

ATANU BHATTACHARYA, born in Kolkata in 1964, is a graphic artist by profession, known for his abstract paintings, experimenting with printing ink and acrylic. He completed his Bachelors in Visual Arts (Printmaking) in 1990 and his Masters in Visual Arts (Printmaking) in 1992, both from the Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata. His final year dissertation on pulp prints by Somnath Hore was done under the guidance of Pinaki Barua.
His first solo exhibition was held at the Society of Contemporary Artists’ Gallery, Kolkata in 2008. He has participated in various group shows in places including the Brownson Art Gallery, New York in 2009 and CIMA Gallery, Kolkata in 2002.
He has been a recipient of the Rabindra Bharati University’s Visual Art Faculty Graphics Award in 1993, and a member of the Society of Contemporary Artists since 2008. His works are part of numerous collections in India and abroad, including National Gallery of Modern Art and Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi.

• Foreword
• The Artist and His Time
• Somnath Hore’s Milieu and Evolution
• Reasons Why the Wounds Series Deserves
• Special Attention
• The Artist’s Background and Development
• Link Between Earlier Works and the
• Paper Pulp Print
• Artistic Career
• Aesthetic Importance
• Technique
• Probable Viewpoints
• Somnath Hore and Wounds
• Acknowledgements
ISBN 9789394501003
Pages 88
Number of illustrations 63 illustrations
Size 6.6 x 10.25” (168 x 260 mm)
Date of Publishing Oct. 2023
Language(s) English
Co-publisher(s) In association with Akar Prakar, Kolkata and New Delhi
Rights Available World rights

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