A Social Gathering by Bikash Bhattacharjee

A Social Gathering by Bikash Bhattacharjee

Bhattacharjee’s A Social Gathering is a fine example of his work undertaken during the 1970s and ’80s, combining photorealistic elements with a subtle, dreamlike surrealism. The painting portrays a group of fashionable, high-society women in their finest sarees and jewellery surrounding what appears to be a leader dressed in a simple saree.

While she exudes power, the remaining women exude wealth.

Their most striking feature, however, is an absence of eyes—dark shadows implying where they would have been present had the artist chosen to paint them—that results in a haunting, otherworldly atmosphere.