Kolkata: Jogen Chowdhury passed away exactly a month before an exhibition of his works was set to open at the Bengal Biennale. Showcasing at least 20 works, the exhibition holds significance because Chowdhury had agreed to create an exclusive sketch for it. Art lovers will now get a rare glimpse of this previously unseen piece at an exhibition in Santiniketan.Chowdhury had served as the mentor of Bengal Biennale since its inception in Nov 2024. For its second edition, organisers had planned to host his exhibition at Society of Visual Art & Design (SSVAD) — a non-profit organisation focused on development, innovation, and research in visual art and design. Chowdhury had described the centre as a place meant to “build a meaningful space for creation, without the boundaries of an institution — providing breathing space for free thought and experimentation”. “Since he was the main person behind SSVAD, we had planned to host a show of his there,” said Bengal Biennale founder Jeet Banerjee.A month earlier, Chowdhury was presented with an early copy of a book slated for release at the event. Banerjee said, “A book on him will be released by the Delhi-based organisation Sanchitart at the Bengal Biennale. Copies have arrived in Kolkata, and Jogen-da received one at his apartment.” Though his health was quite frail at the time, video recordings capture him happily flipping through the pages of ‘Of Rain and Shine’, visibly relishing the act of revisiting a journey through his life and art.Among the highlights on display at the show will be Chowdhury’s sketch of Sachin Tendulkar. Chowdhury used to follow cricket. When Sachin announced his final two Test matches against the West Indies in Kolkata and Mumbai as part of his retirement series in 2013, Banerjee was serving as the assistant secretary of CAB under president Jagmohan Dalmiya. He suggested that Chowdhury create a sketch of Sachin “to be printed on the Day 1 ticket for the Kolkata Test”.The brief was to do a portrait of Tendulkar at 40. But Chowdhury had suggested that a sketch from his younger days would be better suited since it was that image which had endeared him to the nation’s cricket lovers. Banerjee has kept both the ticket and the original sketch but will display only the latter at the exhibition.
