Ajit Kumar Das’ Newest Solo
Emami Art will host Ajit Kumar Das; India’s foremost natural dye artist and his never-seen-before brilliant hand-painted natural dye fabric works. The exhibition, titled ‘The Bird that Sings Within’ will begin on January 10, 2025, and will be on view till February 28, 2025.
Artworks in The Bird that Sings Within
With a career spanning more than fifty years, Ajit Kumar Das’ works are characterized by his love for nature – flowers, plants and birds – and his extraordinary skill, experiments and understanding of the medium of natural dye, enhanced, and modified. Centred around the theme of nature, The Bird that Sings Within speaks of the relevance of beauty in today’s prosaic worlds, the aesthetics of artistic craftsmanship and ecological ethics.
Handpainted natural colours on Khadi Cotton, (72×41 in)
Courtesy – Emami Art
Richa Agarwal on Emami Art’s Upcoming Exhibition
On Emami Art’s newest exhibition, Richa Agarwal, CEO, of Emami Art, stated, “Ajit Kumar Das’s The Bird That Sings Within celebrates his mastery of natural dye, a medium he has elevated into a profound and innovative form of creative expression. Recognized as one of the foremost artists in this field, Das integrates exceptional artisanal skill with a refined artistic sensibility and a deep connection to nature.”
Handpainted natural colours on cotton, (72×40 in)
Courtesy – Emami Art
She adds, “At Emami Art, we are dedicated to championing diverse artistic practices, ranging from painting and sculpture to performance, photography, and new media. Through archival documents, rare photographs, and a symposium on his practice, we place Ajit Kumar Das’s work within a meaningful historical and cultural context. This exhibition offers inspiration and insight for art enthusiasts, students, and scholars, and we believe it is a journey worth revisiting time and again.”
Handpainted natural colours on cotton, (18×16 in)
Courtesy – Emami Art
About Ajit Kumar Das
Ajit Kumar Das was born in 1957 in Tripura to a traditional washer family who worked for the royal family of Maharaja Udaymanikya. He came to West Bengal around 1972 and started his first job in a block printing unit in Srerampore in 1976. In 1980, he joined the Weaver’s Service Centre (WSC), where he worked as a master craftsman at WSC for many years in Ahmedabad, Guwahati, Hyderabad, and Kolkata, until he retired from his service in 2017.
He has been the subject of many solo exhibitions, in Santiniketan (1993), New Delhi (1997, 1990s), Kolkata (2014), London (1982), Sweden (1986), and France (1994), amongst others. Ajit Kumar Das lives and works in Kolkata. His works were greatly admired by luminaries like Haku Shah, Riten Mozumdar and craft revivalist Martand Singh showing a delicate blending of professional craftsmanship and refined artistic visions.
Handpainted natural colours on cotton, (24×36 in)
Courtesy – Emami Art
About Emami Art
Emami Art is a leading Indian contemporary art gallery and a platform for cultural production. Established in 2017 in Kolkata, Emami Art represents emerging, mid-career and established artists and organises a dynamic programme of exhibitions and public seminars. Since its inception, the gallery has curated and hosted intimate and large-scale exhibitions and regularly participates in national and international art fairs and conferences.
Image – Songs of Nature II (2023), Handpainted natural colours on cotton, (17.5×23 in) Courtesy – Emami Art
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