"Line has been the most significant element of Indian art tradition. It defines the character
of Indian visual language. There is not so much flourish in it as in the Far Eastern calligraphic tradition. But the movement of the brush endows it with a life of its own.
Two artists from Calcutta — one pre-independence and the other post-independence — understood its nature very well. The artists Jamini Roy 1887-1972) and Jogen Chowdhury 1939-) mastered its spirited quality and used it to articulate their own distinctive styles.
While the artists Jamini Roy and Jogen Chowdhury have been concerned with the expression of Indian identity in their work, the two painters are diametrically opposed in their aesthetic values, their vision of the world, their sensibilities. Just to give one instance, Roy uses strong, vivid colours achieving bold contrasts. Chowdhury, on the other hand, has a preference for monochromes highlighted by the use of subtle pastels. This exhibition gives us a taste of the two widely disparate artistic visions, even if they shared some major concerns.", writes Ella Datta.