KP-KG 14

CONTEMPORARY KALIGHAT. ARTIST IS KALAM PATUA.Kalam Patua’s works render contemporary times in the traditional Kalighat idiom of yesteryears. The visual aesthetic stays almost intact, but the theme and subjects are new. Although it must be noted that the Kalighat art form has always captured that which is contemporary to the times of the artworks. Since its beginning, Kalighat paintings have captured both the real and often masked interaction between man and woman. This scene seems to have a clear sexual undertone. The man and woman are shown struggling in a half embrace. Her one leg is perched up in a provocative manner while she shies away from looking at the man directly regardless of their intimate interaction. The man, on the other hand, has fixed his gaze on the woman while he massages her foot. Her stance is more of a coy playful reluctance than of resistance. To denote a woman in such an intimate manner, where her agency in the situation is seemingly her own, makes this work unique.