Van Cleve Fine Art logo







FacebookFollow us on Twitter

SHAW GHOSH

Images  |  Exhibition History  |  Galleries  |  Press










From raw sexuality to sublime contemplation, Indian artist Shaw Ghosh confronts issues of feminine identity and the startling clash of old and new customs in rapidly globalizing India. Her haunting pieces depict brutal scenes of cultural history and can be viewed as a metaphor for life in India. Largely self-taught, with short stints at Kolkata and Santiniketan Universities, Moumita has gained critical acclaim for the intensely enigmatic quality of her painting. Like many artists in India, Moumita does not like the word feminist branded on her or her works. Instead, she describes her paintings as observations, some based on specific events, some on more general emotional reactions. Real-life events such as the massacre of the Nandigram villagers in West Bengal, or the highly publicized gang rape of a woman in Assam, are rendered with an emotionally charged color palette that reveals the artist's consciousness. Moumita is a master of creating depth in her figures; the viewer is drawn into the large haunting eyes of her subjects: animal, human and anthropomorphic. While Moumita's surrealistic scenes are indeed couched in her own urban observations, they transcend the local to address issues of suffering and inequality felt on a global scale.