The Eyes say it all at IGNCA

Portraits reflect different faces and phases of life. But eyes say it all, eyes almost lay the heart of a person before you. And that is the title of the portrait exhibition by artist Dipak Kumar Ghosh, Eyes say it all.

The show will be inaugurated by former President Dr. Pranab Mukherjee on, February 3, 2018 at Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), New Delhi will remain on till February 8. Present on the show will be 60 portraits of famous personalities, in charcoal, acrylic as well as water colour.

People’s emotions and expressions has affected Ghosh a great extent and this led his focus especially to their eyes “as they convey a certain intimacy, emotions, even a history that nothing else can hold”.

“Though I have not limited my work to portraits alone, I paint on different subjects but I believe eyes are the reflection of the soul. Even in the briefest moments, they can speak volumes. Hence this time the focus is on eyes,” says Ghosh.

The theme “eyes” has been presented by many pairs of eyes that reflect various facets of a person, from exuberance to a simple smile, from a profound grief to a mellowed agony, from being exhausted to boredom.

Though he works with acrylics, paint and oil pastels as well, Dipak turned towards pencil and charcoal full time to be able to portray the world through the eyes of those he came across in life.

On this show you will see the portraits of eyes of famous personalities like Rabindranath Tagore, Swami Vivekananda, Albert Einstein, Caring eyes of the a mother, Sri Ramakrishna, Mother Teresa and A.P.J. Abdul Kalam to name a few which are always attractive and seek all the attention.

Dipak Kumar Ghosh

“Every stroke in every work of art is important to the bigger picture and the time and effort that I’ve invested in each and every portrait and sketch and painting of mine makes all of them special to me,” he adds. “While I was doing the sketches of Osho and Sri Aurobindo, there was a power cut which somehow led to complete darkness in my studio. This is when I noticed the eyes that stared back at me and I could almost feel their presence in the room. The experience was divine and gave me a great sense of satisfaction,” he says sharing his experience of doing eyes.  Born and brought up in Kolkata, Ghosh strated drawing around eight years of age. Though he never went to any art college (he is a commerce graduate from Prafulla Chandra College, Kolkata), his works speak volumes about his talent and expertise in the field of art. His talent landed him his first job, in 1974, in a factory where his work entailed drawing figures showing human anatomy. Three years later, in 1977, he moved to Mumbai and joined an advertising firm. Currently he is working at an advertising firm in Delhi.

But Ghosh’s life is not limited to just paintings, he has interest in all forms of art, including music and filmmaking. And he keeps himself abreast with all the technological advancement as well (he has digitalized all his works).

“Drawing and painting is my passion, and most of the time I am involved in it. But when I’m not occupied with my passion, I help artists and leaders of tomorrow see the light, my primary endeavor is to make them dream better. My thought process has always aligned better with children as they are fearless and forever evolving, naturally possess a vivid imagination and are open to all possibilities of fancy,” he adds.