Art exhibition explores five decades of artist Shipra Bhattacharya's journey in figuration

New Delhi, Nov 19 (PTI) Artist Shipra Bhattacharya's solo exhibition here offers a rare encounter with the artist whose work has shaped conversations around women, the dignity of their everyday lives, and their shared solitude that is not an escape but a form of witnessing.

Returnig to Delhi after a decade, Bhattacharya’s solo exhibition "In Bloom: A Journey through the Five Decades of Shipra Bhattacharya" at Bikaner House traces her commitment to figuration -- foregrounding emotional depth, imaginative freedom, and moral clarity across five decades of practice.

From solitary terrace figures to works that bear witness to collective trauma, the exhibition traces the evolution of her signature figuration.

As her iconic motif of the woman on the terrace recurs throughout, symbolising imaginative freedom within the constraints of everyday reality, works like "Taposhi", which responds to the Singur tragedy, and "Stop War", a meditation on global conflict, reveal the artist’s "fierce moral clarity and poetic resistance".

“This exhibition is not just a reflection of my artistic journey -- it’s a mirror to the many inner landscapes I’ve traversed over the past five decades. Each work carries traces of silence and song, rupture and resilience. I’ve always believed that the quiet spaces within us hold immense power -- not as an escape, but as a way of seeing the world more truthfully," Bhattacharya said.

Some of the highlights of the exhibition are monumental canvases such as "Floating", which offers a striking visual dialogue between lush botanical abundance and skeletal desolation, anchored by a central figure who bridges these opposing worlds with quiet grace.

In "He", the male form becomes a palimpsest of urban memory, inscribed with miniature lives and poised at the edge of sea and city.

"People" celebrates collective identity through dense figuration and chromatic richness, while "Desire" transforms longing into a mythic river that floods the urban subconscious.

"Through these paintings, I’ve tried to honour the dignity of everyday life, the imaginative strength of women, and the moral urgency of bearing witness. 'In Bloom' is my way of saying that introspection, too, can be a form of resistance,” the Kolkata-based artist said.

The exhibition will come to a close on November 23. PTI MAH MAH MAH