Shipra Bhattacharya

Born in 1954, Shipra Bhattacharya’s work has dealt with women’s issues in a confrontational, yet subtle manner. While the female figure forms a central part of her work, it is more the inner consciousness of these women that the artist draws on, using bold yet soft colours and smooth brushwork. There is a mystery about each of her female protagonists – about the want of something more than what meets the eye. In her recent works, the female body becomes a site or vehicle, backing the viewer, but tattooed with icons and images that voice both fulfilment and desire.

Bhattacharya’s work borders on the sensuous. It is far from portraiture, and yet there exists an endearingly real character to each of her women. The artist combines with ease bright, bold colours and soft, curving strokes, rendering each of her paintings a mesmerising paradox.

Educated at the College of Arts and Crafts in Kolkata and the College of Visual Arts in the same city, Shipra Bhattacharya has been exhibiting her work in solo shows since 1981, most recently at ‘EVEa’ organised by Gallery Sanskriti at the India Habitat Centre, New Delhi, in 2006. The artist’s works have been included in numerous group shows which have travelled all over the world, most recently ‘Think Small’ at Art Alive, New Delhi, in 2009; ‘Miles Apart’ at Point of View, Mumbai, in 2009; ‘Manthan’ presented by Nitanjali Art Gallery at Galerie Romain Rolland, New Delhi, in 2009; and ‘An Indian Summer’ presented by Art Alive Gallery, New Delhi, at the Gallery in Cork St., London, in 2007.