Epic on Rock Shelters

Ashok Bhowmick

Epic on Rock Shelters

Epic on Rock Shelters celebrates four decades of the creative journey of Ashok Bhowmick.  

Ashok began his artistic journey with his first show in 1974.   The art world has seen many changes since then, however Ashok's determination to express his art in a simple and uncomplicated yet distinctive style remained unchanged.

Ashok Bhowmick says, “I have tried to learn contemporariness from the people who lived in the caves of Lascaux, Bhimbetka, Altamira thousands of years ago. I strive to understand the meaning of ‘simplicity’ from those who braved a most complex and unkind world without any ‘language’ to express their emotions, yet communicated effortlessly with members of their society  through lines, colours, forms and above all with a specific purpose!”

Noted Art Critic, Keshav Malik has rightly commented,  “Whether organic or otherwise, the shaped forms of Ashok's compositions are, as if, engrossed in inner or outer reflection. They are like staged characterizations, artistic heightening. As such, they succeed in evoking empathy, that is, making us participate emotively in the lives of the dramatic personae”.

Ashok is often called the master of cross etching; but more than his arduous technique that makes him inimitable, his simple and poetic forms are appealing to the eye.

Over the years his paintings have created a special mark, not requiring a formal signature for identity.  The distinctiveness in all his works are actually his signature and represent the soul and purpose of the art of Ashok Bhowmick.

During the last four decades, Ashok has been constantly evolving with new subjects, new forms and new narratives, confirming his insatiable desire for change and his apathy towards repetition.  In his words, “Mindless repetition has been the most significant aspect of the art of Post Independent India, which was inherited from Jamini Roy in particular. In today’s art world success and courage to repeat are symbiotically wedded, and they unfortunately also ensure recognition! ”

Through the show Epic on Rock Shelters, Cymroza Art Gallery is proud to felicitate Ashok Bhowmick, one of the most seriously committed artists of our time. May his creative journey continue to enthral art lovers and fulfil the purpose of his being!

Bakhtawar Shroff

Cymroza Art Gallery