Untitled

Nikhil Biswas was a founding member of the Society of Contemporary Artists, Calcutta (now Kolkata) along with others like Somnath Hore, and firmly believed in the power of collective art. Struggling with financial difficulties, he used the cheapest material to execute his art—packaging paper, newsprint, and a viscous ink pen. His charcoal drawings are characterized by a vivid drama of movement. His ‘Combat Series’ feature human bodies welded to each other in fierce conflict, where we discern the shape of a hand or the hint of a leg amidst a mass of black heaving clouds. The motion and dynamism of the figures are conveyed through the flurry of charcoal lines and, despite the abstract form of the image, it conveys a very vivid, visual sense of combat.