Gallery Sanskriti celebrates 25 years of artistic indulgence

The exhibition, 'A tribute - in memory of the Bengal legends,' showcased the paintings of five legendary Indian artists like Shyamal Dutta Ray and  Paritosh Sen.

Twenty-five years ago when the gallery began its journey, it was mentored and supported by the likes of Bikash Bhattacharjee, Dharmanarayan Dasgupta, Ganesh Pyne, Paritosh Sen and Shyamal Dutta Ray. The exhibition marked the gallery’s journey with a tribute to these legends who have immortalized simple canvas, paint and colour into works of art that will astound the generations to come.

Ila Dutta Ray, wife of late Shyamal Dutta Roy reflected upon his works. Talking about her husband's inclination towards other forms of art, she said, "He was interested in music and drama. He himself participated in several plays when he was a bit young. He used to derive inspiration from music and his surroundings for his own creations. His forte was painting with water colour, although he has also worked with acrylic. Other than my husband's pieces, I love the paintings exhibited here by Bikash Bhattacharjee and Dharmanarayan Dasgupta."

Gallery Sanskriti's director  Ambica Beri talks of her inspiration behind the show, "This year, 2015, is the 25th year of our gallery. We are going to do a series of exhibitions that will display all the artists that I have worked with and a couple of new artists. I wanted to start the show with these five artists because, I have closely worked with them. I would say, I learnt a lot from them and they were my mentors. They are no longer living and to start with I wanted to relive the memory of these five legends."

When asked about her journey with the gallery, she said, "The journey has been great and it has evolved in such a way that in the last four years I have created Art Ichol in Maihar. You have to see that to understand where the journey has led me.