Set of Steps

Partha Shaw

Born - 1971 Kolkata

Education

1994 Master of Fine Arts, Rabindra-Bharati University, Kolkata

1992 Bachelor of Fine Arts, Kala-Bhavan, Viswa Bharati, Kolkata

Exhibitions

2010 'Rhythmic Significance', Selected Solo Exhibitions

2010 'Rhythmic Significance', Gallerie 88, Kolkata

1998 Gallery OM, New Delhi

1997 Chitrakoot Art Gallery, Kolkata

1995 Chitrakoot Art Gallery, Kolkata

Selected Group Exhibitions

2010 'India Rising: Tradition Meets Modernity', presented by Ati Art Gallery at Varya, New Delhi

2009 'Think Small', Art Alive Gallery, New Delhi

2009 'Eclectic Juncture', Art Alive Gallery, New Delhi

2009 'Entity', MEC Art Gallery, New Delhi

2007 'Emerging India', presented by Art Alive Gallery, New Delhi at The Henry Moore Gallery of Royal College of Art, London

2007 ‘Eastern Edge’, Aicon Gallery, New York

1997 Sanskriti Art Gallery, New Delhi

1997 'Fifty Years of Independence', Gallery Chitrakoot, Kolkata

1996-97 Organized by Shilpa Sarit, Kolkata

1996 Sanskriti Art Gallery, Kolkata

1996 Gallery La-Mere, Kolkata

1995-97 Rotary Club of Kolkata, Chitrakoot, Kolkata

1993,1997 Birla Academy of Art and Culture, Kolkata

1992-93 Academy of Fine Arts, Kolkata

Participations

2010 Annual Exhibition, Chawla Art Gallery, New Delhi

2009 'Entity', Annual Exhibition, M.E.C Art Gallery, New Delhi

2008 Shanghai Art Fair, China presented by Gallery Sanskriti, Kolkata

2008 '18th Anniversary Show', Gallery Sanskriti, Kolkata

Honors and Awards

1996 Nirod Baran Memorial Prize from Rabindra- Bharati University, Kolkata

1993 Award for Painting from Academy of Arts, Kolkata

Partha Shaw is a painter who schooled in Santiniketan - a place steeped in artistic tradition and history, generated by masters like Nandalal Bose and the Tagores, and enhanced by modern and contemporary artists like K.G. subramanyan, Sunil Das and Dharmanarayan Dasgupta. It was in Santiniketan that Partha Shaw developed his imagination and creative vision. But even though Shaw had this rich and overflowing background to borrow from, he like most of the other artists there, decided to create a style of his own and add to the heritage he learned of, rather than make use of it. Here, he could also closely study nature and the works of the great Indian masters. Taking off from the unique Indian miniature, Shaw gave shape to his personal vocabulary of artistic expression, which is characteristically Indian and at the same time is loaded with modernity.

Shaw works mainly with landscapes but handles them in a very contemporary fashion. Instead of using abstract methods of representation, Shaw, along with some other Bengal artists, has used figures in his paintings to represent what he wants. This movement has very aptly been termed "Figurative Symbolism," a conscious effort to exhort the virtues of the non-abstract. Shaw explains his work and inspiration, "Born in the decaying, overcrowded, bustling Kolkata, the profound stillness of shabbily ornamented, architectural remains, that seems to be lost with the upcoming of modern times traverses through my subconscious thus forcing an emergence of mystery and fantasy conjugated in the human presence. The glory that the Indian miniatures carried lost its importance with the role of time. My searches always tend to glorify this lost gold on a surface that dictates a torn survival in somber darkness. Nowadays I am trying to incorporate traditional Indian miniature art with contemporary modern art. My medium of painting is acrylic. To portray the architectural loneliness I also use some graphical qualities."

Partha Shaw was born in Kolkata in 1971 and received his BFA and MFA from the Visva Bharati University, Santiniketan. So far most of his showings have been in his own city, the exceptions being a couple of exhibitions in New Delhi. Shaw`s first solo show was held in 1995, and hopefully, this young artist, who already has an artistic movement to his credit, will see many more years of fruitful career awaiting him.