The exhibition, Ethereal Forms: A Tribute to Shankar Ghosh (1934-2020), at Aakriti Art Gallery honoured the sculptor’s legacy on what would have been his 90th birthday. The bronzes, though fixed in form, seemed to pulse with life, capturing a latent energy that was both human and transcendent. Ghosh’s mastery lay not just in the physicality of his medium but in his ability to express movement and emotion within stillness. His bronzes, solid and weighty, carried a graceful fluidity that evoked the complexities of the human form. More than mere technical brilliance, they engaged deeply with the metaphysical.
His sculptures bridged figuration and abstraction — trees made of slender cut sheets melded into figures, animals and humans, becoming one with nature. Reclining women, embracing couples (picture), sometimes smooth, other times textured, conveyed both tenderness and resilience. A small sculpture of a band encapsulated the dynamism of performance, transforming stillness into motion.
Initially aiming to study commercial art at the Indian College of Art & Draftsmanship, Ghosh was redirected toward sculpture by Pradosh Dasgupta during the admissions process. Ghosh’s journey was interrupted when he left art to work. Yet, fate intervened when he discovered that the artist, Dilip Dasgupta, had a studio above his office. There, Ghosh slowly reignited his creative passion, learning oil painting. Dilip Dasgupta encouraged him to add sculptures when preparing for his first solo show at Artistry House in 1963. Ghosh, unfamiliar with the technicalities of casting, was aided by Sarbari Roy Chaudhury. The critical praise only reserved for his paintings in this debut exhibition reinforced his commitment to sculpting. His mastery of bronze developed further at the Lalit Kala Akademi, working with Tarak Garai.
The exhibition, devoid of critical text, left room for a richer contextualisation of Ghosh’s practice. Figures like Pradosh Dasgupta, Dilip Dasgupta, Sarbari Roy Chaudhury and Tarak Garai were instrumental in shaping his career, but the true originality of his work — rooted in a synthesis of mentorship and personal inquiry — still awaits more focused curatorial attention.