Jogen Chowdhury, a prominent figure in the realm of Indian modern art, is celebrated for his distinctive style that seamlessly blends traditional Indian aesthetics with modernist sensibilities.Chowdhury's artistic journey spans over six decades and has left an indelible mark on the art world. From the very beginning, since the 60s JogenChowdhury developed a distinctive style that combined the elements of line texturing into forms of agony and vulnerability. In the context an emergence of a new phase of modern Indian art in the 60s,Jogen Chowdhury is a non-typical artist in many ways. He preferred to work mostly in pastels, water color and ink instead of oil-painting and went on to develop a visual idiom rooted in the Indian ethos and more specifically Bengal ideology. Jogen Chowdhury’s personal style can also be understood as a natural consequence of his own affinity with the organic energies of life manifested in nature and an incisive observation of the social life around. As quoted by himself, ‘man and life, their complex co-existence, are the central concerns’ of his art. With this unfailing concern Jogen Chowdhury’s art continues to attract a universal and local recognition. In the wake of the emergence of a new phase of modern Indian art in the 60s, preceded by the likes of Hussain, Souza and Raza who have already set a standard in their own individual ways, Jogen is anonconforming artist neither formed by any revivalist refuge or from any obvious model of western modern art.
However, over the period of last six decades, despite his rootedness and unwavering attention to his personal idiom, Jogen Chowdhury has never allowed himself to get trapped in a singularity of style. Stylistic changes and medium shifts, along with deviations from the habitual techniques have informed his works in the most significant ways. His attentions and concerns with regard to subject-matters too have seen notable alterations bringing in innovative expressions and visual statements. Thematic concerns have seen a remarkable evolution in Jogen’s art. Motifs have expanded in identity and style. He has also worked in other mediums (oil, acrylic, serigraphy, and lithography) and explored different techniques and execution methods. Despite these shifts off and on what is consistent and unfailing is thehuman warmth and intimacy his art exudes, even if they are disturbing sometimes.
"My works have introverted quality with intense feelings. when i paint or draw, i also establish a relationship with my subjects. as a social being, it becomes natural. it serves multiple purposes."