Jayasri Burman
Born 1960, Calcutta, India, Jayasri Burman studied at the Kala Bhavan in Shanti Niketan where she received her B.A. in Fine Art, and at the Government College of Art and Craft in Calcutta, where she completed her M.A. in painting. Following this, in 1984 she moved to Paris where she studied print-making under Monsieur Ceizerzi.
Burman comes from an extended family of eminent artists. From her husband, Paresh Maity; to her uncle Sakti Burman who lives and works in France, as well as her cousin Maya Burman. Jayasri, in 2005, helped create an exhibition entitled “The Family” featuring works by all these artists.
The imagery in her work has a dream-like and lyrical quality with a unique sensitivity which, although inspired by the Indian folk element, retains a quality of refreshing candor and reflective honesty. She manages, very successfully, to weave the decorative and design element of the folk idiom into the intricate patterns of her canvas, without losing the natural charm and naiveté of her work, which is uniquely her own.
Jayasri’s closeness to Nature is also reflected her in works. She can reinterpret the lush green environs, the hybridized imagery of a woman who is more bird-like in her grace and form, the stagnant pools that bring out the flamed colours of “Basant” (spring), in her paintings. Jayasri’s latest oeuvre reveals an unconscious suspended energy that can find its parallel in the environs of Santiniketan, where she studied. If she expressed a tranquil sanguine feel in the images, she reflected two years ago, this time her vehicle of expression is the dance of colour.
Her works are a commitment to an art that is derived from the experience of the landscape – it is more than a matter of seeing things afresh – it is the perception that is aware of the transience and mutability of landscape. She establishes an intimate space, like a secret garden, and invites the viewer to partake of it. Once you step into Jayasri`s fictional world, you can look around and respond immediately to the unorthodox canons of beauty and partake of the choreography of Nature.
