Alipore Museum to exhibit paintings of Gopal Ghose
Times of India | 24 January 2025
123456 Kolkata: It will be a homecoming of sorts for the ‘Wanderer' when a retrospective on the works of Bengal's renowned landscape artist, Gopal Ghose, is inaugurated at the Alipore Museum on Saturday (Jan 25). Born in Kolkata in 1913, Ghose earned the moniker ‘India wanderer' as he spent much of his childhood away from the city.
Curated by Delhi Art Gallery (DAG), the two month-long exhibition, will feature Ghose's works in watercolour, gouache and pastels, and an exceptionally uncommon oil on canvas, alongside rare early sketches in pencil.
This is the second art exhibition at Alipore Museum after the Bengal Biennale, where the biggest show ‘Kali' was on display. The retrospective will cover Ghose's creative evolution and artistic trajectory from the 1930s to his final days in 1980. It will also offer an insight into the artist's practice characterised by his masterful landscapes and exemplary use of colour. Ghose obtained a diploma from the Maharaja School of Arts and Crafts, Jaipur, and then got trained in sculpture at the Govt College of Art, Madras. While drawing inspiration from the Bengal School, Ghose incorporated artistic elements from European Expressionists and Cubists in his portrayal of nature. He introduced expressionistic elements tolandscape painting.
Proficient in several mediums,his swift sweeping brushwork was admired by former PM Jawaharlal Nehru. "The career retrospective highlights his profound connection with the natural world through his hallmark paintings, presented alongside previously unseen drawings and prints. Beginning with socially relevant paintings from the 1940s, the exhibition culminates in his masterful landscapes that amply warrant his reputation as an exemplary landscapist and colourist," said DAG chief executive officer and managing director, Ashish Anand.
Alipore Museum director, Jayanta Sengupta, said the exhibition would be followed by other shows.