Some of Chandan Roy’s works — Symphony, Cow Boy and the mysteriously spelt Exchande Fillings — at his recent bronze exhibition, Abohoman, at Chhobi-O-Ghor displayed a surreal edge: superhumans seemed to be in control of the worlds around them, but their forms were relaxed, as if they were unaware of the powers they possessed.
Roy’s fluid, but dense, sculptures — Intimacy, Power and an unnamed bull — with indisputable power in their form, shared a characteristic feature: near-absent faces. Yet the absence of faces does not take away from the surprising expressiveness of the figures, especially in Poribar (picture) — a family of three women sitting together, their bodies betraying their easy rapport, almost cutting the viewers off from their confidentiality.
Among the Ghat series, Roy’s meticulous studies in bronze, Ghat 38 stands out by the dint of the strange combination of a looming abstract figure and the neat, sharp repetitive sets of umbrellas, temples, steps and boats.
