The Dream of an Idiot

Emami Art, one of India’s leading contemporary art galleries based in Kolkata, presents ‘The Dream of an Idiot’, a survey show of Sibaprasad Karchaudhuri, an extraordinary yet not-so-widely-known abstract artist from Bengal. Focusing on the seminal works from different phases of his immensely productive career that span over forty years, the exhibition opens on July 14, 2023, and will be on view through September 30, 2023.

The exhibition follows Sibaprasad Karchaudhuri’s journey as a significant Indian artist who has striven to develop a unique abstract language. He was attracted to abstract art early on as an Applied Arts student at the Government College of Art and Craft, Calcutta. His tutelage under the legendary Helena Peerenthupa at the newly established textile design department at NID in 1968, His professional experience of working with the design and weaving sectors and his long association with the Weavers Service Centre, a sabbatical when he travelled to California to study printmaking at the San Jose University and later as a teacher at Kala Bhavana, Santiniketan, contributed to the shaping and refining of his language, which varies both stylistically and in terms of medium and material. Karchaudhuri’s notable works are characterized by his subtle experimentation with elementary forms and the use of vibrant colours. He has not entirely abandoned the visible world, but it appears in his work as reduced abstract forms combined with the sense of place and memory.  

The exhibition on the gallery’s ground floor presents a large body of his paintings, drawings, prints and tapestries, along with archival material, many of which are being shown for the first time.