Bijan Chowdhury

Bijan Choudhury (1931–2012) was a key figure in the evolution of post-independence Bengali art, whose bold expressionist works reflected the turbulence and transformation of 20th-century India. Born in Faridpur (now Bangladesh), Choudhury began his art education at the Government College of Art and Craft, Kolkata, but was expelled for his Marxist leanings—an early sign of his ideological conviction and resistance to conformism. He later continued his studies at Dacca Art College, grounding his practice in both classical traditions and contemporary currents.

Choudhury was instrumental in challenging the dominance of the Bengal School, co-founding two seminal collectives—the Society of Contemporary Artists in 1959 and Calcutta Painters in 1964—with artists like Nikhil Biswas, Rabin Mondal, and Prokash Karmakar. His work combined the visual vocabulary of Kalighat pats, clay dolls, and folk traditions with influences from modernist giants like Picasso and Zainul Abedin, creating a highly personal idiom that fused indigenous forms with a universal humanism.

His paintings often explored themes of social unrest, displacement, and existential struggle, shaped by the fraught decades of Partition, the Naxalite movement, and the Bangladesh Liberation War. Yet, through his expressive figures and emotive brushwork, Choudhury conveyed a deep empathy and resilience of spirit.

Over his career, he was honored by the Academy of Fine Arts and Rabindra Bharati University, and served as Principal of the Indian College of Art and Draftsmanship. Bijan Choudhury's art remains a powerful record of a time, place, and consciousness—bridging aesthetics with activism in compelling form.