Hazy Existences

Hazy Existences is the first solo exhibition by artist Chandra Bhattacharjee in Sri Lanka at SFG, 138 Galle Road, Colombo 03. The exhibition includes works created in the artist’s studio in Kolkata as well as work produced in Sri Lanka during his participation in KALĀ Commune, a month-long artist residency at the University of Visual and Performing Arts, Colombo in January 2025.

Bhattacharjee composes contemplative visual poetry through charcoal, matte acrylics and dry pastel, bringing to light the hidden strains of rural existence, where the impact on our ecologies is illuminated through the artist’s masterful grasp of light and depth. In his textured rendering of village life, each hushed figure, animal or tree becomes a porous site of story-making, enveloped in a grainy haze, achieved through a technique of cross-hatching. The textures of Bhattacharjee's compositions are inspired by his associations with the Santhal tribe of Kolkata, mimicking the textures of the mud walls found in rural villages. Chandra Bhattacharjee is an artist who contemplates humanity’s so-called ownership of the natural realm, depicting the cycles of preservation and loss within our fragile bond with the earth.

Chandra Bhattacharjee (b. 1961, Patuli, India) is a contemporary artist whose work is deeply rooted in his connection to nature and belief in the coexistence of humans, animals, and the natural world. He graduated from the Indian College of Art and Draftsmanship in Kolkata (1986) and received his M.F.A from Kala Bhavan, Visva-Bharati University, Santiniketan (1989). His work has been exhibited internationally at Accademia Albertina di Belle Arti, Turin, Italy (2021), Art Alive Gallery, India (2023), Odisha State Museum, Bhubaneswar, India (2023), Emami Gallery, Kolkata, India (2024), India Art Fair, New Delhi, India (2025), Bengal Biennale, Kolkata, India (2025). 

Bhattacharjee composes contemplative visual poetry through charcoal, matte acrylics and dry pastel, bringing to light the hidden strains of rural existence, where the impact on our ecologies is illuminated through the artist’s masterful grasp of light and depth...

Chandra Bhattacharjee’s Hazy Existences invites viewers into quiet, layered landscapes shaped by memory, ecology, and a deep sensitivity to light and surface. Within his canvas and paper artworks, a subtle disquiet unfolds—trees shimmer with unnatural light, kindling bursts into flame, and birds hover between serenity and dread. These moments are not depicted as dramatic spectacles, but rather as quiet ruptures that reveal the slow violence of environmental degradation, which is subtly felt and often left unseen. 

Rather than offering a linear narrative, Bhattacharjee’s paintings are constructed from remembered sensations, shaped by childhood impressions and an enduring engagement with nature through his paintings and photography. His aesthetic is meditative and dreamy, marked by a subtle tension that challenges the illusion of human control over nature. The human figure appears not as the central subject but as part of a wider web, one species among many that the artist portrays with empathy and understanding. In Bhattacharjee’s world, to look is to listen closely to the land, to its transformations, and the fragility of our place within it.

Hazy Existences will be on view at SFG, 138 Galle Road, Colombo 03 from 17.07.2025 to 10.08.2025, from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.