Sriman Arun Chakraborty and his highly gifted mother Srimati Rekha Chakraborty, founder of Rekha Chitram, have more than amply demonstrated how the fine art of Embroidery may rival the best of Photography and even approximate the skill of highly talented Painters.
When I first visited the gallery at Rekha Chitram I was deeply impressed by the high quality of the Embroidery works display which nearly perfect in creating an illusion of Paintings.
While Rekha’s works in their temper and choice of themes show affinity to the school of social realism reflecting her harsh experiences in the school of life, Arun , brought up in relatively happier and more secure circumstances, is clearly inclined to give free rein to his imagination. In his portraits he ,of course , stays close to Photographic verisimilitude, but even here his choice of individual models reveals his aesthetic taste and inclination.
Quite clearly he has a strong preference for Musicians, Painters and Literary Artists - in most cases of the West. I admire his dexterity and success in capturing with needle and thread the self-portrait of Leonardo da Vinci and Salvador Dali, the anguished face of Emil Nolde and the farseeing eyes of Paul Klee, all great Painters ; the gallery of the master composers of immortal music, Johannes Brahms, Richard Wagner, and the romantic Russian Tchaikovsky, the penetrating look of Thomas Mann and the amused and ironic smile of Bertold Brecht.
It is certainly uncommon in Calcutta today even among educated members of the young generation to find persons who feel a sense of kinship with the great artists of a distant continent whose faces Arun has captured.
But Arun’s original and real talent are best seen in his abstract works. Initially he seems to have been drawn to the creation of Klee, Kandinsky and other of the Bauhaus school for his models. But having absorbed their influence he has moved to his own themes and personal style .
The abstract series titled “ Trek” is quite intriguing , as is the one titled “ Suspension”. “Fest” is delightful ; so is “Snail”. A sense of the tragic is captured in the large piece titled “ Monologue” ; and “Shadows in the mist” stirs up deep reverberation. Arun’s sureness of touch as a craftsman is evidenced by the illusion of Painterly qualities he creates through Embroidery. ~ Sibnarayan Ray