Alpona exhibition to showcase daily life of rural Bengal

Team L&M

The National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) and Archeological Survey of India (ASI) are all set to present Alpona, an exhibition celebrating the works of renowned artist and sculptor Ramkinkar Baij, at the Old Currency Building in Kolkata tomorrow, March 25.

Alpona comprise sculptures, sketches, watercolours and large oil on canvas works – based on the daily life of rural Bengal, such as farmers returning from a hard day’s work or dust cloud arising in the horizon of homebound cattle, factory workers relaxing with a light chat amongst each-other, village guardian deities such as yaksha and yakshi being manifested in plaster.

To support the main theme, art-works of prominent artists and sculptors which form the core collection of NGMA and the ones that were from the initial years of collecting art will also be showcased.

Consisting of works from its prestigious in-house collection, the curation also showcases works of artists from Bengal starting from its indigenous roots of Patuas and Kalighat images to forming of the serene wash styles of Bengal school and the eventual explorations of Shantiniketan. It also includes site-specific installations presenting the indigenous art of Bengal.