REDISCOVERING A GENIUS Father of Indian Abstractionism’s story 

The Pioneer takes our readers through an intriguing discovery of Bimal Das Gupta, an innovator whose inventive abstract artworks revolutionised modern art!
In Indian art, Bimal Das Gupta was a pathfinder whose avant-garde abstract paintings completely changed the field of modern art! His mastery of colour, particularly in watercolours—a medium renowned for its difficulty—was his greatest asset as an artist. He had a captivating manner of blending and mixing, whether in a bright array or monochrome. His paintings have been forgotten for a long time, despite his tragic death and the deaths of his children in a car accident in 1995. Sources, however, inform us that his pieces have only begun to resurface at auction and are receiving positive reviews.
The main collector of artwork by Bimal Das Gupta is Vikram Mayor, Director of Gallery Silver Scapes. An intriguing discovery for our readers, reading this piece appears to be the experiences he reveals from people who have collaborated closely with him. ” Bimal Da was always a creative genius with a vision that sought to continually rediscover himself. His early paintings from the 1930s include abstract-bordering landscapes and architectural pieces. He started his journey in the 1940s before moving on to tantric pieces. As a devoted Hindu, the Shiv Parivar from the 1940s, during what is known as his “brown period,” is among his first known abstractions.” His works created after the 1980s can be understood as a potent synthesis of his previous experiences into a fusion of Tantra and landscapes with a Darwinistic vibe. Artists typically begin to wane as they become older. Bimal Da was different and each work coming out was a masterpiece in its own rights.
Every new piece the artist produced over the course of six decades was a development from the one before it; the journey was clear and will be on display when his works are shown. I wouldn’t know how to characterise it other than as a transforming phase that lasted till his death in 1995,” accompanies the jubilant art enthusiast. He goes on, “Das Gupta was a master of mediums,” in actuality. “Like all the artists of his time, he started with oils but gradually learned that he had a serious sensitivity to oil. Consequently, Bimal Da started experimenting with medium to make up for his inability to utilise oil. He began combining materials like tempera, gouache, ink, and dye pastes. He was also the pioneer in introducing acrylics to India! No artist has been able to replicate or blend mediums in the same way as he did; therefore, his method of combining various mediums to achieve the outcomes he produced remains undisturbed and is evident in the works.”
The art curator additionally stated, “Forty years of arduous labour. With each item being added as a drop. Being connected to the artist, we were aware of his brilliance; nothing surprised us, with the exception of some of his older catalogs, which showcase the artist’s enchantment and his lineage—you’ll have to wait to see them. I would say that the younger generations took cues from him and went on to become masters of their own accord, exactly as Bimal Da would have desired.”
We have exclusively learned that he had planned to perform in Japan, to which he had devoted most of his legacy, but that never materialised. Post his passing, there being a paucity of his works and his works being generations ahead of his time, Bimal Da started slowly fading with the new galleries only pushing artists they had access to. “With this exhibition, we hope to shed light on the genius that India possessed and the person our art historians should refer to as the Father of Indian Abstractionism. Due to the commercialisation of art and the lack of anyone to explain the work of this genius, educators who were only using basic formulas were unable to relate to this maestro, whose works are futuristic even today,” we hear from a few more perceptive recollections.
Bimal Das was well-regarded in the 1980s. India was only familiar with two artists: Das Gupta and Hussain. Though, in the art consultant’s opinion, none of his interactions had an impact on Bimal Da’s artistic development, he did have an impact on everything that came his way. Gujral was an admirer of art and a friend of the artist; his brother, Satish Gujral, was also an artist. VP Singh came to learn painting from Bimal Da since he had heard so much about him. This show advances art in a way that goes beyond abstraction. The medium and methods employed by Bimal Da still remain the foundation of contemporary Indian art and are mostly unreplicable. Young and aspiring artists would get a great opportunity to witness the works in person and get a firsthand look at the phenomenon known as Bimal Das Gupta. Abstract art is sometimes viewed as little more than a scattering of colours and textures, but with the pieces on show, they intend to change that perception.
“I want to start by changing the word to “underappreciated.” Among people who are familiar with his works, Bimal Da has never been underappreciated and is not now. He is regarded as a visionary ahead of his time and a genius. In Indian art, however, the artist’s genius is still being determined by his or her monetary success rather than by the quality of their work. We want to alter that with this show. The artist’s genius will be exposed to the world and nobody will be able to purchase their creations. After this event, I genuinely hope that artists will be pushed based on their quality rather than using a commercial, elitist, or nepotistic approach. The purpose of this exhibition is to alert the art market’s eyes to the fact that a genius like Bimal Das Gupta was previously unknown.”
Bimal’s unconventional methods serve as the foundation for the education of today’s young artists and his creations are proof of this genius’s expertise. Many exploited the techniques discovered by Bimal Da but have not even come close to the expertise this genius demonstrated in his works! It has been the hard labour of Gallery Silver Scapes and Dhoomimal to bring to light the amazing works of Bimal Da. There is still a long way to go for this merited artist, but his skill has ignited interest in an audience that has matured from three decades ago. November 9–10, 2024, at Travancore House, is when Bimal Das Gupta: Tutelage – An Ode to a Legend will take place. The exhibition traces his evolution as one of the country’s most influential and groundbreaking abstractionists, starting in the 1930s when he first broke from the figurative styles that were popular in India following independence, and continuing through the later phases of his career.