Seagull. Calcutta
In collaboration with  Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath, presents

The Art of Suranjan Basu
[1957 – 2002]

Opening Saturday 5 September 2026, 5 p.m.
at Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath, Kumara Krupa Road, Bengaluru

on view till Sunday, 27 September 2026. 11 a.m. – 7 p.m.  [except Mondays]

 

Born and brought up in Santiniketan, Suranjan Basu graduated from Kala Bhavana, Visva Bharati, in 1980 and then attended Maharaja Sayajirao University, Vadodara, for his post diploma in 1982. Deeply engaged in printmaking—especially woodcuts—since the late 1970s, he participated in numerous collaborative experiments with artists in Kolkata until a Lalit Kala Akademi Research Grant (1983-84) led him to New Delhi’s Garhi studios where he integrated mural concepts into printmaking. After teaching at Gyan Bharati School for a few years, in 1990 he returned to his roots at Kala Bhavana and taught there for the rest of his life at the same time as he curated exhibitions and introduced digital media into the curriculum.

Basu played a key role in forming ‘The Realists’—an artists’ collective focused on socially engaged art practices. He also participated in numerous art camps and exhibitions across the country as well as exhibited abroad, in London, Bradford and Amsterdam

He passed away after a brief illness on 3 April 2002 in Santiniketan.

A posthumous retrospective was organised by the Realists in 2002 at Kala Bhavana, Santiniketan and by Seagull Foundation for the Arts in 2008 and 2025 in Calcutta and in Kala Bhavana, Santiniketan in 2026. 

 

JUST PUBLISHED

History, is never solely about what has been; it is equally about why the past continues to matter in the present. The past is immutable; history is its interpretation. Every generation revisits the past with new questions, concerns, and anxieties, producing what may be understood as histories of the present—interpretations that illuminate contemporary realities by tracing their historical formation. To that end, it is not simply a record of what happened but an ongoing dialogue between evidence, memory, and interpretation. The enduring challenge is therefore not only to reconstruct the past but also to interrogate the assumptions that shape its telling, making history a critical and inclusive interplay between the past and the present.

What is History?
Is it a collection of dates and facts? Is it the study of human experiences, actions, and their consequences across time? Is it a vital tool for understanding the present and shaping the future? By studying history, do we gain a deeper appreciation of our collective heritage, identity, and the complexities of human existence?

Historians weave narratives from scattered fragments, crumbling ruins, dusty archives and bulky manuscripts. Does their craft make them storytellers?

These are some of the ideas that were explored at the annual and regional conferences of 2024/2025.
 
 
Download the digital journals consisting of all the lectures here