Apeejay professor’s artwork gets selected in the 63rd National Art Exhibition

The campus of Apeejay College of Fine Arts (ACFA), Jalandhar is adorned with veteran artists, whose artworks have been making a mark at the national level. And yet there has been another moment of pride and excitement as the artwork of Shri Basudev Biswas, Professor at ACFA, got selected in the 63rd National Art Exhibition, organised by Lalit Kala Akademi in New Delhi.

Representing the artists of Punjab, Prof Biswas’ artwork – the sculpture ‘Silent Mystery’ – was selected out of the 5,700 entries and further 297 shortlisted artworks from across the country.

Moreover, this year turned out to be unique for this veteran artist. “This was an exceptional year for me. Along with a selection amongst the 297 works, I was, at the same time, also invited by the Lalit Kala Akedemi to act as a member of the “Award Jury” panel. Even though I had to withdraw my work “Silent Mystery” from this second and final tier of judgment for the National Award, as I was one of  juries, being a part of the Jury panel has surely been a great honour for me,” he expressed. 

Shri Biswas’ “Silent Mystery” is a part of his ‘Harano Sur’ series of scrap brass sculptures, that took form in the lockdown of 2020 and has continued to take form till date. Prof Biswas explained, “‘Harano Sur’ (the lost melody) is a story of rebirth. What had once lost its identity, resurfaces to life in harmony. For a metal scrap, the object’s identity gets dissolved as the metal object is melted down in a furnace to a mere mass of metal. When I visualise the scrap objects as a part of my creation, it gives it a second chance to come alive again, often along with several other objects, brought together in harmony. And it reveals a whole new expression.”

For his work “Silent Mystery”, Prof Biswas made use of  trays, pots, door knobs, car parts, sifter, pipe and several other scrap parts to come together in harmony while simultaneously conveying the feeling of mysticism. “It is one of my best works from the series, definitely close to my heart,” he highlighted. 

Further,  Dr. Neerja Dhingra, Principal of ACFA, congratulated Shri Biswas on his brilliant achievement and wished him luck to keep up with the good work.