Jogen Chowdhury

Jogen Chowdhury (Feb 16, 1939) is an eminent Indian painter and considered an important painter of 21st century India He lives and works in Santiniketan He graduated from the Government College of Art & Craft, Kolkata and subsequently at École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts, Paris in 1967 He has immense contribution in inspiring young artists of India Jogen Chowdhury had developed his individual style after his return from Paris His most famous paintings are in ink, water colour and pastel He has painted in oil medium as well

Lines and its tactile characteristic to enhance colours are is an important material in Indian Art for ages Jogen Chowdhury himself is a master of lines and he has mastered to make the curves depict the character of his figures By careful distortion of the form he imparts the air of caricature in his figures, figures of men and women The figure is always the most important and conveys all the artist has to express Colour, he uses though, is to provide matter into the form In a significant way R

Jogen was born in Daharpara Village, a village in the Faridpur district of Bangladesh in 1939 His father Pramatha Nath Chowdhury was a Brahmin zamindar; the rest of the family moved to Calcutta in 1948, after the partition The family stayed at his uncle's quarter Here Jogen painted his first painting, on the wall. Jogen received the interest on art from his parents as both his parents were artists Pramatha Nath was interested in Hindu mythological incidents and characters.

He was educated in Kolkata (Government College of Art & Craft) and Paris (École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts) as a student of Painting and went on to became one of the pillars of modern Indian Art After his long stint at the Rashtrapati Bhavana as the Keeper of Art, Jogen Chowdhury joined Kala-Bhavana of Visva-Bharati as a teacher from where he retired as a Professor of the Department of Painting Presently he is associated with Visva-Bharati, founded by Rabindranath Tagore, as Professor Emeritus

In 1951, Jogen's family moved to Saheednagar Colony, Dhakuria He had painted several mythological scenes from the village theatres

Jogen was admitted to the Government College of Art & Craft, Kolkata in 1955 wherefrom he graduated by 1960 His first job was as an art teacher in Howrah zilla school After two years in 1962, he was employed as Designer in the Handloom Board, Calcutta

In 1965, he went to Paris to study in Ecole des Beaux Arts, in William Hayter's Atelier 17 Afterwards he spent five months in London

He returned to India in early 1968 He was appointed as a textile designer in the Handloom Board in Chennai In 1970, he joined the Calcutta Painters Group His first collection of poems Hridoy Train Beje Othey was also published in the same year

He quit his job at the Madras Handloom Board in 1972 to join the Art Gallery of Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi as a Curator Due to this new job, he moved to New Delhi He founded the Gallery 26 and Artists' Forum in New Delhi in 1975 along with some leading painters of New Delhi In 1986, Jogen represented India in the 'Festival of Art' in Baghdadwi

In 1987, Jogen Chowdhury joined Kala Bhavan, Santiniketan as professor of painting Beside his numerous paintings, exhibitions, he has written extensively on contemporary art He was also appointed as Juror in several exhibitions

In 2014 Jogen Chowdhury was elected a Member of Parliament from West Bengal This website is the result of a long cherished desire to put together a fairly representative body of works by Jogen Chowdhury in various media along with his poetry, thoughts and essays I am most grateful to Jogen Chowdhury and Nilanjan Bandyopadhyay among others for providing us miscellaneous digital content for this site to be shared with all This is, however, just a beginning The site will be modified and extended at frequent intervals democratising the works and ideas of one of the greatest painters of our time He had also sculpted various Hindu deities Jogen's mother was an expert in Alpana drawings

EXHIBITIONS
1963: Drawings and Paintings, Academy of Fine Arts, Kolkata
1965: Drawings and Paintings, Bangla Sanskriti Sammelan, Kolkata
1966: Oil paintings, Galerie de Haut Pave, Paris
1968: Drawings and Paintings, Alliance Francaise de Madras, Chennai
1970: Ink and Mixed Media Works on Paper, Sarala Art Centre, Chennai
1972: Ink and Mixed Media Works on Paper, AIFACS Gallery, New Delhi, inaugurated by Shri V V Giri, President of India
1976: Ink and Pastel Works on Paper, Embassy of India, Paris
1977: Ink and Pastel Works on Paper, Chanakya Art Gallery, New Delhi
1981: Ink and Pastel Works on Paper, Dhoornimal Art Gallery, New Delhi
1981: Ink and Pastel Works on Paper, Birla Academy of Art and Culture, Kolkata
1982: Watercolour Paintings, Bithi Art Centre, Baroda
1983: Watercolour Paintings, Contemporary Art Gallery, Ahmedabad
1988: Ink and Pastel Works on Paper, Sista’s Art Gallery by Kala Yatra, Bangalore
1990: Drawings, Sarala Art Centre, Chennai
1992: Drawings with Ink and Pastel on Paper, Nandan, Kala Bhavan, Santiniketan
1993 : Ink Brush Drawings on Poems by Namita Chowdhury, Little Gallery, Kolkata
1994: One Hundred Drawings, Seagull Art Foundation, Sukh Sagar, Kolkata
1994: Drawings, Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi
1994-95: Drawings, Sakshi Gallery, Mumbai
1996: Drawings and Paintings, CIMA Gallery, Kolkata
1996: Drawings and Paintings, Glenbarra Art Museum, Japan
1996: Drawings, Gallarie Foundation for Indian Artists, Amsterdam
1997: Drawings with Pastel on Paper, Gallerie Foundation for Indian Artists, Art Fair, Amsterdam
1998: Coloured Drawings with Pastel Paper, Foundation for Indian Artists, Amsterdam
1998: Drawings and Paintings with Ink and Pastel, Gallerie, Mohnjeet, Paris
1999: Paintings with Ink and Pastel on Paper, Fine Art Resource, Berlin
2001: Coloured Drawings with Ink and Pastel, Gajah Gallery, Singapore
2002: Drawings and Paintings with Ink and Pastel on Paper, Bose- Pacia Modern, New York
2006: One Man Show, CIMA Gallery, Kolkata 2007
2007: Abahaman-Flowing Life, Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi
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