Subhanil Ray’s Circle of Enlightenment

Atanu Basu

It is only expected that the viewers would encounter the art works of the artist. Ray’s art works are centered on Indian mythical characters, lifted directly from epics like Ramayana and Mahabharata and myriads of Gods and Goddesses–Krishna, Hanuman and Durga, Saraswati and many others, the figures run into a hefty 21 pieces. The exhibition was held in Academy of Fine Arts recently. There were about 11 exhibits in canvas, while ten exhibits were done on paper media.

The very special and significant point about this exhibition is that it is dominated by wild use of dazzling colours; but when the situation demanded a rather subdued milieu, the artist did not hesitate to use an appropriate mellowed down hue to suit the situation; and from time to time, one encounters just absolutely flat colours. He used his brush in a queer manner–after his strokes, he used to smear them. In his paintings, the human figures are painted without eyes, nose or lips, even the ears were missing. It’s a superb manifestation of flat colours. According to Subhanil, ‘my Circle of Enlightment series, my recent works invite contemplation on the profound interplay between spirituality and perception. By replacing the faces with empty circles as a visual metaphor, my art works symbolise transcendental essence of the divines emphasising that it transcends human comprehension and traditional anthropomorphic representations’.

His art works turned out to be a major point of interest. Many an unspoken words are wrapped around his exhibits. There are moments, which remained freeze, remained stationary, giving a tacit hint of a very slow motion. Whatever philosophy he has committed himself, his works go far beyond it and assumed a brilliant composition, cleaver arrangement coupled with a style and masterly techniques. A very special mention must be made about his choice of colours–they are very soft and as smooth as the skins of his subjects. Yet he did not hesitate to go very loud in his colour schemes.

In his piece, Shiva and Kali, the Goddess Kali appeared in black and silver colour with a pinch of hue of rose, displayed his skill about playing with colours, a fantastic manoeuvre with brush. His figurative compositions are no less enchanting and interesting too.

This exhibition had touched a new height in showcasing some unusual art works. The exhibits appear to be ‘simple’, but they offer deep sensitivity and keen observations.

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Vol 58, No. 11, Sep 7 - 13, 2025