Arup Das

“My works are about human beings, but I like to put them in their historical and social context."

Arup Das (1924 - 2004) belongs to that Indian art era when modernism was gradually developing its roots and inspiring local academic artists. Having studied at the Government College of Arts and Crafts, Das, later, was a council member of All India Fine Arts and Crafts Society. In 1972, to his fortunate opportunity, he also got to train in the UK through the British Council Fellowship. Das practised drawings, paintings and murals.

Rendering in low key hues, utilising figurative schemes and spirituality, Das’s oeuvre focuses on humans and animals as central figures. Depicting in a naturalistic manner, the tweaks in forms are calculative and objective. Although human's interaction with society bears legible importance in his works, the creative and conceptual layers project his artistic capacity. Each layer brings a dense appearance to the painting. Many of his figurations highlight a European influence, which, again, Das had juxtaposed with Indian essence, augmenting a modernist style.

Das’s paintings are said to be spiritual with a denotation of the coming of the Messiah that brings a message of hope, happiness and eternal liberation. Timeless in nature and reaching beyond the common ideas, his painted objects and living beings depicted then-contemporary subjects and situations. It is his blurring effect, merging and converging into another form, that identifies with Das’s style.

Staging his career at a seminal junction of Indian art, Das had participated in several solo and group shows in India, Japan, the UK, Canada, and others. In 1957, he was a recipient of the National Award from the Lalit Kala Akademi and the President's Silver Plaque. Today, Das's artworks are owned by several reputed national and international art collections.