Honorable Prof. Chhatrapati Dutta is now the principal of GCAC

Chhatrapati Dutta
Office Room: Prof. Chhatrapati Dutta

Principal Chhatrapati Dutta

Prof. Chhatrapati Dutta was appointed as the Principal of Government College of Art & Craft, Calcutta in 2017 before which he taught at the Faculty of Visual Arts in Rabindra Bharati University for twelve years until 2007. Dutta was born in 1964 in Kolkata.

Education

In 1987 he completed his Bachelor in Visual Arts form the Government College of Art & Craft, Calcutta. In 1988 he completed his post-graduation from National University of Athens, Greece and completed his Masters in Fine Arts from Visva-Bharati University, Santiniketan. Soon Dutta mastered the art of drawing and painting, including reverse-painting and started experimenting with various mediums and material which led to his interest in new-media and installation.

Exhibition

Dutta has exhibited widely in the country and abroad including ‘Art of Young Bengal’ (2006) ‘Agony & Ecstasy’ (2007) at Aakriti Art Gallery, Kolkata and participated in a group show at Tamarind Art Gallery, New York and several more at Akar Prakar, Chitrakoot, Dhoomimal, Emami, Gandhara Art Gallery & more. He has several solo shows to his credit including a solo exhibition at Tamarind Art Gallery, New York in 2008.

Work Info

As a dexterous and skilled multimedia artist Dutta’s practice explores the issues of colonial and post-colonial India in a local-global context. The escalating consumerism & hybridity inherent in a developing nation, its transforming social and political relationships within a class & caste hegemony are important concerns of the artist – often looked through the lens of the city of Kolkata

Influenced by myriad sources, Dutta employs the subtle nuances of material to articulate complex symbols and metaphors. His works are characterized by an eclectic handling of media. As a believer in ‘making as a process’ his drawings, paintings and installation based objects are imbued with a pluralism of ideas rendered in a gyrating mass of collage. Dutta negotiates the personal experience/interaction with the world of print culture with his idea and concern regarding the global. The artist reassesses the position of the personal/self as set against the macrocosm of culture.

He is the founder member of Khoj Kolkata. He has initiated, conducted and participated in several national and international seminars, symposiums and workshops. Dutta has been a regular Sunday Columnist for the Hindusthan Times (Kolkata Edition) for over five years.