The Art of Suranjan Basu (1957 – 2002)
Dates: 25 April - 24 May 2025
Time: 11:00 AM – 7:00 PM
Venue: KCC, 1st floor
KCC in association with Seagull presents a retrospective-scale exhibition of prints, drawings, paintings, and terracotta works by Suranjan Basu, printmaker and one of the founder members of the artists’ collective ‘The Realists’ in 1984.
EXHIBITION NOTE
Suranjan Basu (1957 – 2002) was one of India’s finest printmakers who began their artistic career in the last decades of the last century. He grew up in Santiniketan and studied fine arts at Kala Bhavana, Visva Bharati and, later, MS University, Vadodara. Deeply engaged in printmaking—especially woodcut—since the late 1970s, his works show a synthesis of the best of both schools. He played a key role in forming ‘The Realists’—an artists’ collective focused on socially engaged art practices. He also participated in numerous collaborative experiments with artists and art camps across the country and his work was featured in many exhibitions in India and abroad, in London, Bradford, and Amsterdam.
Although primarily known for his woodcuts, characterized by emphatic graphic quality and political humanitarian convictions, he explored other mediums, including painting and terracotta. The retrospective-scale exhibition features selected works in different mediums from his diverse oeuvre, exploring aspects of his creative genius.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Suranjan Basu was a renowned Indian artist born on September 25, 1957, in Santiniketan, West Bengal. He studied graphic art at Kala Bhavana, Visva-Bharati, graduating in 1980, and later earned a Post Diploma in Printmaking from M. S. University of Baroda in 1982. Basu's career was marked by teaching, innovation, and collaboration. He taught at Gyan Bharati School and later joined the Department of Graphic Art at Kala Bhavana, Visva-Bharati, in 1990. In 1986, he co-founded "The Realists," an artists' group focused on socially engaged art practices.
Basu participated in numerous art camps and workshops throughout his career, including the International Artists' Workshop by Khoj at Modinagar in 2001. He also participated in workshops by Krishna Reddy and Paul Lingren in New Delhi in 1984. Basu's notable exhibitions include "Kala Bhavana Graphics" in London (1978), "Graphics 81" in Chandigarh (1981), the Seventh British International Print Biennale in Bradford (1982), 'Graphic Art in India since 1850' at Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi (1985-86); First and Third Bharat Bhavan International Print Biennial (1989, 1995); Mini Prints '96 in New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Chandigarh (1996); and 'Exhibition of Art of Bengal: 1850-1999 Prabaha' in Kolkata. His work was also featured in "Indian Graphics Culture In Image" at the Tropen Museum in Amsterdam (1983) and the National Art Exhibition at the Lalit Kala Akademi in New Delhi (1984-94). After his passing, two major retrospective exhibitions were held at Nandan, Kala Bhavana, Santiniketan (2002), and the Seagull Foundation for the Arts in Kolkata (2008), celebrating his artistic legacy.
Suranjan Basu passed away in Santiniketan on April 3, 2002.
