Born in 1954, Shipra Bhattacharya from Kolkata is best known for her ‘Desire’ series in which a woman’s intrinsic wishes are expressed through sensuous and decorative symbolic images, using bold yet soft colours and smooth brushwork, in a confrontational, yet subtle manner. There is a mystery about each of her female protagonists – something endearing and real, that reaches out. In her recent works, the female body becomes a vehicle, with the back towards the viewer, tattooed with icons and images that voice both fulfilment and desire, rendering each of her paintings a fascinating paradox.