The crow is his calling card. It?s been his medium of expression for decades. And it?s figured prominently in his portrayal of the city of Kolkata in its various moods ? quiet, placid, angry, sordid or decrepit. But lately, Shuvaprasanna has been quite disturbed by the atrocities in Nandigram. And that?s why, perhaps, his latest collection of 30 paintings is predominantly dark. At least that?s the general perception. But that isn?t necessarily what the artist thinks.
?You need a stimulus to get your creative juices flowing. What the outcome is can be difficult to say. If it is a horrifying experience, it isn?t necessary that you?ll come up with a violent creation. You just might make a happy painting,? says the 1947-born painter.
So this time, unlike his earlier series entitled Icons, Shuvaprasanna has chosen to portray cats, bulls, owls and of course, the crow, but mainly in solitary splendour. This is also the first time that he has chosen to exhibit a set of eight sculptures.
As Sunaina Anand, director, Art Alive, who has brought this exhibition to Delhi says: ?I liked this mixed media collection of Shubhoda?s because it seems to have been created in a half aware and unplanned way. This is quite different from how many painters consciously conceptualise their shows today.?
So this new offering from the activist-painter has cats that look like predators, crows that have rapacious beaks and owls with claws that could rip you apart. But there is hope too. Hope in the detailed lines of flowers and grasshoppers. Ask him about his fascination for the crow and Shuvaprasanna says: ?They seem to be so much a part of Kolkata…they can be clever, naughty and aggressive, just like human beings.? That?s why he says he uses them as a medium of expression. ?They are a few lines that are meant to convey an abstraction,? he explains, almost as an aside.
It?s been 40 years since Shuvaprasanna has been painting professionally. In fact so great was his desire to speak through his art that he left home at the age of 16 when his physician father thought otherwise. There was a great deal of struggle. But as he says, his needs were limited so he could tide over these times. But Shuvaprasanna is happy with how there is a market for art today, unlike earlier. ?At least young painters today can be hopeful that their works will sell, even though there is a great deal of hardship that they have to undergo,? he observes.
As for him, the market is waiting.