Self-taught Assamese artist Hemanta Misra arrived at surrealism after his initial tryst with academic realism, followed by a brief affair with cubism. Misra, whose strength lay in painting the outdoors, used both cubism and surrealism to turn ordinary landscapes into fantastical imaginings. In the work, Transmutation into Green Gold, a heap of distressed humanity is attempting to reach out to a shining future. However, the choice of colour hints that not all is right with the promised future; even the bell on the upper left is ominous as it remains unknown for whom does it toll.
published references
Singh, Kishore, ed., The Art of Bengal (New Delhi: DAG, 2012), p. 281 Singh, Kishore, ed., A Visual History of Indian Modern Art, Volume IV: Bengal Modernists (New Delhi: DAG, 2015), p. 645
Hemanta Misra
Transmutation into Green Gold
1968-69
Oil on canvas
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Hemanta Misra
Transmutation into Green Gold
1968-69
Oil on canvas
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