Sumanto Chowdhury’s works are a feast for the eyes

Experimenting with different mediums and techniques, the artist’s oeuvre delights art lovers

Sumanto Chowdhury’s works are a visual treat. The painter-printmaker-sculptor’s ninth solo show My Pictorial Space (ends on September 10) at State Art Gallery in Hyderabad takes art lovers into a fantasy landscape and a world of his imagination. Landscape architecture and cityscapes with a few design patterns form the major part of his compositions.

Curated by P Amaresh Kumar, the mixed media show features around 85 works including paintings, sculptures and the artist’s experiments with different media and techniques like wood, acrylic sheets and colour pencils, pen ink, acrylic on canvas and wood, Intaglio, Drypoint (a printmaking technique that creates sharp lines with velvety edges).

Sumanto, based in Hyderabad since 2004, is also inspired by small-town India, its natural setting and the exuberant and colourful people living in it.

Be it a cluster of brightly-coloured buildings in small lanes surrounded by trees and rocks or a scenic world of flora and fauna or a frame within a frame creating an illusory effect, Sumanto’s exhibits are magical and inviting. “I am inspired by architecture and landscapes of palaces and also from the Indian miniature paintings and perspectives,” says the artist, who created most of these works during the pandemic.

Explaining his creative process, Sumanto says, “I first think of the medium that suits my themes. I could use acrylic on canvas and paper, colour pencils or even watercolours. I balance the painting with colours and textures depending on the medium I use.”

He has used acid-free foam board and waterproof wood in the relief works and a Zinc plate (metal sheet) to create illusion and space deviation between the background and foreground.

“A vibrant colour palette in my works has become my signature style; I want them to be eye-catching and instantly draw attention.”