His strokes speak volumes
SARAT CHANDRA
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One of his remarkable colour portraits is that of Fakira Mohana Senapati who pioneered novel writing in Oriya literature.
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Portrait of Helen Keller
Bipin Bihari Choudhury was physically challenged, but still he was a remarkable artist, well known in the art circle. Bipin Bihari was hailed by social workers serving the challenged persons, since he was the first person to establish a school for the hearing impaired and mute in Orissa. The Orissa Lalitkal Akademi is celebrating the birth centenary of this multi-faceted personality.
As part of the celebrations, the Akademi had an exhibition of some of his paintings and line drawings at the Rashtriya Lalitkala Kendra of Bhubaneswar recently. The paintings and sketches were enlightening and a real treat. Bipin Bihari had his art education in several places — the Government School of Art & Crafts, Calcutta; J.J School of Art, Bombay and Royal College of Art, London. During his study tours to the U.S. and Francehe met many remarkable personalities. Several of them were later his subjects in line drawings, sketched and oil paintings.
There is a sketch of Hellen Keller whom he met in 1949. Though Hellen Keller was deaf-mute and blind she travelled several countries and wrote many books. In his sketch Bipin Bihari brought this modern wonder into life with the minimal — a few lines and strokes of black.
The other exhibits in this category include Mahatma Gandhi, Rabindranath Tagore, Nehru, Binoba Bhave, Lal Bahadur Sastri Satyajit Ray. His sketch on Jesus Christ is yet another example of his talent — the Messiah's meekness and the spiritual light that governed him are well portrayed in the sketch.
One of his remarkable colour portraits is that of Fakira Mohana Senapati who pioneered novel writing in Oriya literature. Several of his colour paintings reveal his mastery on the craft. In `Betrothal' he had taken care of colour combination for maximum impact, whereas in the `Whale' the artist worked different shades of blue.
Three of his cartoons were also on display in the exhibition.
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