From A Visual Vocabulary by Satyabrata Das
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
It is true the sky is blue, but sometimes it can turn red, white, purple and yellow too. We have all marvelled at its spectacular shades at different times and then promptly forgotten about them. Those brilliant hues come to mind once more when we see Satyabrata Das’ works.
His latest series, A Visual Vocabulary, presently on display in Bengaluru make you recall similar skies from whenever you were last under the open sky. “Urbanisation takes people away from life, but I want to bring that back, I want people to see Nature — its beauty, freshness, colours and moods, and that’s why I focus mainly on landscapes,” says Satyabrata.
Hailing from Bhubaneshwar, Satyabrata says growing up in the city of temples had a profound influence on him. “In my neighbourhood there are hundreds of amazing temples and heritage monuments. As a child, I grew up seeing how they looked during different times in the day, due to the light and weather,” he says, adding, ”I was also fascinated by the beautifully designed alpanas or rangolis my mother would draw for our home.”
From A Visual Vocabulary by Satyabrata Das
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Though both Satyabrata and his family knew he could draw well, they did not realise how gifted he was, until he participated in and won a state-wide art competition. “I was only in class VI and till I won, I thought gold medals were only for academics, not for art. My parents, and especially my father, were extremely happy.”
Satyabrata eventually went on to study at Kala Bhavana, the fine arts department of Visva-Bharati University, in Shantiniketan. “I loved that Nature was always in focus there, throughout our education, and I was blessed to have Somnath Hore, KG Subramanyan and Sanath Kar as my teachers. I also had the chance to be mentored by the legendary Ramkinkar Baij for a while.”
After graduating from art school, Satyabrata returned to Odisha and joined a TV show that taught children how to create art. He was commissioned by Nalco (National Aluminum Company head quartered in Bhubaneshwar) in 1984 to provide the artwork for their first-ever calendar. Based on historical sites in the state, the calendar was a huge success.
Satyabrata Das
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
“After this, I went on to pursue an MBA in California and while still a student, I was selected as a docent for the Festival of India hosted in Los Angeles that year. I met the most amazing people from India at that event — filmmakers, writers, artists and other craftsmen. That exposure benefitted me tremendously.”
He says with that he began to paint in earnest, starting with replicating the works of famous masters, but eventually going back to Nature and landscapes. “I love travelling and I enjoy using my imagination and experiences to capture whatever I see — colonial buildings or village huts, the hand-pulled rickshaws of Calcutta or trams, beaches and boulevards.”
Whatever the scenery, more often than not, one can sight the moon in Satyabrata’s work. A romantic by his own admission, the artist is not hesitant to state how much he is inspired by that nocturnal orb.
And it is true. Of the 30-odd canvases that are a part of A Visual Vocabulary, one can see the moon peeking out in almost all of them. Created using acrylics and oil, Satyabrata feels his use of textures and linear lines, “make my landscapes interesting and varying moods are depicted in my use of colour.”
From A Visual Vocabulary by Satyabrata Das
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
He began working on this series in 2022, and many of the landscapes are inspired from Odisha, Assam and parts of the United States. “I made them for the simple joy of creating and sharing them with people,” says the artist, who also enjoys teaching art to the children and elderly.
A Visual Vocabulary by Satyabrata Das will be on display at MKF Museum of Art till February 25.