‘Only the intensity of desire yields the sights of a flower blooming at its fullest;
The eye must know therefore that it needs to stay open, at all times.’
Probably this quote of Ghalib best describes the essence of Sakti Burman’s work ideally.
As one of the pioneering artists of India, Sakti Burman as a painter, sculptor and
lithographer was born in Kolkata in 1935 and grew up in Bangladesh, and lived for three
decades in Paris. His early days, the partition, growing up in Bangladesh all influenced his
taste and artistic abilities. He studied in The Government College of Arts & Crafts, and later
at École Nationale des Beaux Arts in Paris. His extensive travel over the world to places
Paris, Egypt, Greece is most beautifully translated in his works. His work therefore is a true
reflection of a diversity of subject, of myths, legends, memories and desires. Animals, both
wild and tame as does the figures of men women deities and children find a well depicted
place in his artworks, where they co-exist in perfect harmony; be it his paintings or his
sculptures. He uses pointillism and marbling technique in creating fresco like paintings on
paper and canvas, brightly coloured they often leave a surrealistic impression in the mind.
His unique technique of using colour in small dabs, gentle strokes render an all together
different quality to the colour. He has worked with watercolours, oils, sketches and
lithographs, to sculptures.
The artist has participated in innumerable solo exhibitions since the first one in 1956 in
Kolkata and several group shows in India and abroad. He is the recipient of several awards
as: Prix des Estrangers, Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Paris, 1956; Knight of the Legion
of Honour, Government of France, 2016; Medaille d’Argent au Salon de
Montmorency.
SAKTI BURMAN
‘Only the intensity of desire yields the sights of a flower blooming at its fullest; The eye must know therefore that it needs to stay open, at all times.’
Probably this quote of Ghalib best describes the essence of Sakti Burman’s work ideally.
As one of the pioneering artists of India, Sakti Burman as a painter, sculptor and lithographer was born in Kolkata in 1935 and grew up in Bangladesh, and lived for three decades in Paris. His early days, the partition, growing up in Bangladesh all influenced his taste and artistic abilities. He studied in The Government College of Arts & Crafts, and later at École Nationale des Beaux Arts in Paris. His extensive travel over the world to places Paris, Egypt, Greece is most beautifully translated in his works. His work therefore is a true reflection of a diversity of subject, of myths, legends, memories and desires. Animals, both wild and tame as does the figures of men women deities and children find a well depicted place in his artworks, where they co-exist in perfect harmony; be it his paintings or his sculptures. He uses pointillism and marbling technique in creating fresco like paintings on paper and canvas, brightly coloured they often leave a surrealistic impression in the mind. His unique technique of using colour in small dabs, gentle strokes render an all together different quality to the colour. He has worked with watercolours, oils, sketches and lithographs, to sculptures.
The artist has participated in innumerable solo exhibitions since the first one in 1956 in Kolkata and several group shows in India and abroad. He is the recipient of several awards as: Prix des Estrangers, Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Paris, 1956; Knight of the Legion of Honour, Government of France, 2016; Medaille d’Argent au Salon de Montmorency.