Parents and friends of a young painter who died of Covid at the height of the pandemic have put together an exhibition of the man’s works.
Sumanta Dey, a former student of the Government College of Art and Craft, passed away in May 2021 after testing positive for Covid.
Sumanta would have turned 31 on March 19. His parents, Dipak and Sadhana Dey, decided to organise the exhibition to mark the occasion. Twenty-four of Sumanta’s paintings are on display in the central gallery of the Academy of Fine Arts.
Sadhana and Dipak inaugurated the exhibition on Tuesday. It will continue till March 20.
“The idea to have an exhibition of Sumanta’s works came to our mind about six months ago. It was then that his friends and a teacher took all the responsibility of organising the exhibition. They chose the paintings, framed them and did everything necessary to organise this exhibition,” said Sadhana. Her eyes turned moist as she spoke.
Their house in Birati, on the northern fringes of the city, is full of his artworks.
Sumanta’s first painting teacher was his father.
“We had become numb after losing Sumanta. He was our only child. The grief of losing one’s child is inexplicable. But we are managing to sail through with the help of his friends and one of his teachers. They have been by us always,” said Sadhana.
One of Sumanta’s paintings at the exhibition.
Sumanta Dey
Priyanka Saha, a friend of Sumanta’s, was giving visitors a tour of the exhibition and explaining the arrangement of the paintings. Sumanta painted the majority of the artworks that are on display between 2010 and 2016, when he was a student at the art college.
The exhibits include sketches of a marketplace, animals and other subjects. Many paintings were drawn outdoors as Sumanta liked going to a spot and sitting down with his brush and paints.
On display are also worksdone after the Covid-induced lockdown was declared in March 2020.
“We wanted to display a range of his works,” said Priyanka.
A book of illustrations made with a fellow artist, which had fetched Sumanta many awards, is on display as well.
His parents are planning to turn the room in their Birati home where Sumanta used to work into a permanent art gallery.
“We want to remember our son by exhibiting his works. His works must keep shining,” said Sadhana.