Sakti Burman

Born in 1935 in Kolkata, Sakti Burman graduated in fine arts from the Government College of Arts and Crafts, Kolkata, in 1956. He studied at the Ecole Nationale Superieure des Beaux-Arts, Paris and was awarded the Prix des Etrangers by this institution in 1956. Sakti Burman's vast sculptural oeuvre is composed of multifarious motifs borrowed from traditional Indian mythologies and fairy tales. 
Burman uses pointillism and marbling techniques to create fresco-like works on paper by mixing oils with acrylics. His distinct oeuvre owes mainly to his marbling technique, which he developed after years of experimentation. Sakti Burman visited Italy in 1958 and was influenced by the frescos of Giotto, Piero de la Francesca, and Simone Martini and incorporated their monumentality and textures into his works. Sakti Burman paintings often evoke a surrealistic feel in the spectator referencing various times and spaces. His paintings are occupied by humans, animals, and cityscapes, and they represent elements from both Indian and European mythologies.
He has held several solo shows, including ‘Sculpted Sagas’ (2023), ‘Sakti Burman: Life is a Theatre’ (2022), ‘Sakti Burman: Drawings, Sketches, Watercolours’ (2019), and ‘Sakti Burman: A Private Universe’ (2015) at Art Alive Gallery, a retrospective at the Lalit Kala Akademi in New Delhi, Jehangir Art Gallery in Mumbai, Victoria Memorial Hall in Kolkata, and DakshinaChitra in Chennai (2012), as well as in galleries based in Paris, London, Milan, and Zurich. Burman has participated in numerous group exhibitions as well, some of the most recent including ‘Life, Soul, Games’ (2022) and ‘Art Now’ (2018) at Art Alive Gallery in 2022. 
His works, along with those of Picasso, Chagall, and Miro, were exhibited in Japan (1997). He was invited to participate in Sigmund Freud's Interpretation of Dreams, an exhibition organised by the University Art Museum, Binghamton, New York, at the Historisches Museum, Vienna (2000). Several publications and illustrations have been released on his works, including a book on his work and life, ‘Sakti Burman: Dreamers on the Ark’ published in 2001, ‘Portfolio of Monographs’ by Lalit Kala Akademi in 2007, ‘Sakti Burman: A Private Universe’ (2015), and the most recently released titled ‘Life, Soul, Games’ published by Art Alive Gallery in 2023. 
He has also received the Silver Medal at the Salon de Montmorency and an award from the town of L'Isle-Adam as well as Knight of the Legion of Honour, Government of France, 2016.
He lives and works in New Delhi and Paris.