Jagannath Paul
Born in 1976 in West Bengal, Jagannath Paul graduated from the Government College of Arts & Crafts, Kolkata and has been the recipient of many prestigious awards. Over the years, Jagannath Paul has won numerous reputable awards including Hindustan Pencil Ltd. Award by Bombay Art Society, Mumbai, Camlin Awards, Mumbai, Gopen Roy Award from Indian Society of Oriental Arts, etc.
He is known for his charcoals on paper or canvas. His works bring out the drama of black and white by introducing solid blocks of paint, which are restricted to reds, yellows and orange. The contrast sets the mood of the work, highlighting the characters that he paints. The varied nuances of male and female relationship are manifested in his paintings through the medium of charcoals and colors on paper and canvas. He uses colours to depict relationships in different moods and emotions.
Jagannath Paul is deeply influenced by Cubist art form of post-modern era. Unlike other artists, who prefer curvy, realistic lines to draw their subjects, Jagannath paints them with straight lines. Their noses are long, lips are plump and eyes closed. The closed eyes in these paintings might be representing numerous things; deeply engaged in thoughts, lost in a dream, enjoying the pleasures of physical world, or even self-reflection.
Though he creates abstract setting for his semi-abstract subjects, a fine line subtly demarcates the two. The geometric shapes in the background are often smaller and more precise, than those in the subject, which instead of creating a distraction, follow their natural shape and compliment them. The shadows created by the charcoal, help the artist to blur the lines between the subject and the setting.
