Untitled, Shora

Medium	:	Terracotta
Surface	:	Canvas
Dia	:	12 inch
Style	:	Figurative Drawings, Figurative Paintings
Year	:	2007

Medium

Terracotta

Surface

Canvas

Dia

12 inch

Style

Figurative Drawings, Figurative Paintings

Year

2007

Description

Jogen Chowdhury | Untitled (Shora) | Terracotta | 12 inches (Dia) | 2007

This striking hand-painted terracotta shora carries the timeless charm of Bengal’s folk art tradition, reimagined with bold simplicity and symbolic depth. Crafted on a circular terracotta base, the artwork features a strong black-and-white composition centered around a stylized tree-like form, surrounded by organic patterns, abstract motifs, and delicate hand-drawn details.

The bold black strokes create a sense of rhythm and movement, while the minimal palette enhances its raw, earthy elegance. The symbolic central motif evokes ideas of growth, life, and rootedness, making the piece feel both deeply traditional and refreshingly contemporary. Its circular form adds harmony and balance, making it a beautiful decorative object for walls, shelves, or curated art spaces.

Perfect for collectors of folk-inspired contemporary art, this terracotta shora reflects the beauty of handcrafted storytelling and the quiet power of simple forms. It is not just décor—it is a celebration of heritage, craftsmanship, and artistic expression.

Born on 15 February, 1939 in Faridpur (now in Bangladesh), Jogen Chowdhury’s family moved to Calcutta following the partition.
Chowdhury studied art at the Government College of Art and Crafts, Calcutta, and subsequently at École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts, Paris. A student of Prodosh Das Gupta, Chowdhury worked in the expressionist style of figuration in his early years. He created his own gallery of the grotesque, featuring lewd men with bellies like sacks and women with loose, hanging breasts. The Paris sojourn sharpened his creative thought process, helping in the evolution of his distinctive personal style.

Chowdhury interprets the human form through the x-ray vision of his creativity: attenuated, exaggerated, fragmented, reconfigured, and rephrased. For Chowdhury, the body has to communicate in silence. Often placing his figures against a vacant background, he does not appropriate the specificity of place or environment; instead, he transfers feelings of anguish on to his figures through gestural mark-making. His dense, crosshatched lines simulate body hair and a web of veins takes away the smooth sensuality of the classical body to manifest the textures of life.
Chowdhury believes art in India is neither subsumed in the miniature traditions nor in those of Ajanta, for India is neither a monolith nor a static entity; and that a notion of Indianness should not be fixed into some kind of timeless loop. He has been awarded the Madhya Pradesh government’s Kalidas Samman, and was honoured at the 2nd Havana Biennale. He lives and works in Kolkata and Santiniketan.

Shipment DetailsThis artwork will be shipped unframed, either in roll form or flat, depending on its requirements—at no additional cost.

If you’d prefer the artwork to arrive ready to hang, please get in touch with us to arrange framing and shipping at applicable charges.

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