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.
His mastery over the medium is apparent in his magnificent creations, which combine the stories of France and India. Sakti Burman’s free-standing sculptures display the majestic mythological figures like Krishna, Ganesha, and Shiva. He juxtaposes various elements in his relief murals like children, harlequins, and flying hanuman. Burman creates a confluence of ideas and faith, forming artworks which exhibit the myriad features and characteristics of different worlds.
He has held several solo shows, including Sculpted Sagas at Art Alive Gallery (2023), a retrospective at the Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi, Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai, Victoria Memorial Hall, Kolkata, and DakshinaChitra, Chennai, in 2012; Galerie des Beaux-Arts, Paris; Piccadilly Gallery, London; Galerie Doucet et Coutureau, Paris; Galleria Nuovo Sagittario, Milan; and Galerie Sagar, Zurich.
Burman has participated in numerous group exhibitions, some of the most recent including Life, Soul, Games at Art Alive Gallery in 2022, The Beholder's Share by Jehangir Art Gallery and Art Musings in Mumbai in 2016; A Private Universe by Art Alive Gallery in New Delhi in 2015; Rituals and Reasons: Invoking the Sensual in Art, at Apparao Galleries in Chennai in 2014; The Wonder of it All, a retrospective exhibition by Pundole Art Gallery and Apparao Galleries in New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai in 2012, Archetype and Enraputured Gaze at Aicon Gallery in London and New York in 2009; as well as Faces of Indian Art organised by Art Alive at the Visual Art Gallery, New Delhi.
His works, along with those of Picasso, Chagall, and Miro, were exhibited in Japan in 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, in 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, 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.
Artworks By Sakti Burman
-
Sculpture | Cms : 170.18 x 187.96 x 78.74 | Inches : 67 x 74 x 31
Bronze -
Sculpture | Cms : 162.56 x 129.54 x 60.96 | Inches : 64 x 51 x 24
Bronze -
| Cms : 86.36 x 72.39 | Inches : 34 x 28.5
Brass -
Relife Sculpture | Cms : 64.77 x 66.04 | Inches : 25.5 x 26
Brass -
| Cms : 78.74 x 54.61 | Inches : 31 x 21.5
Brass -
| Cms : 76.835 x 55.245 | Inches : 30.25 x 21.75
Brass -
Relife Sculpture | Cms : 75.565 x 62.23 | Inches : 29.75 x 24.5
Brass -
Sculpture | Cms : 60.96 x 43.18 x 22.86 | Inches : 24 x 17 x 9
Bronze -
Sculpture | Cms : 67.31 x 19.05 x 24.13 | Inches : 26.5 x 7.5 x 9.5
Bronze -
Sculpture | Cms : 86.36 x 60.96 x 25.4 | Inches : 34 x 24 x 10
Bronze -
Sculpture | Cms : 66.04 x 30.48 x 22.86 | Inches : 26 x 12 x 9
Bronze -
Sculpture | Cms : 69.85 x 33.02 x 25.4 | Inches : 27.5 x 13 x 10
Bronze -
Sculpture | Cms : 72.39 x 63.5 x 24.13 | Inches : 28.5 x 25 x 9.5
Bronze -
| Cms : 69.85 x 45.72 | Inches : 27.5 x 18
Brass -
| Cms : 81.28 x 58.42 | Inches : 32 x 23
Brass -
Painting | Cms : 99.822 x 80.772 | Inches : 39.3 x 31.8
Oil on Canvas -
Sculpture | Cms : 101.6 x 53.34 x 40.64 | Inches : 40 x 21 x 16
Bronze -
Sculpture | Cms : 87.884 x 71.882 x 41.91 | Inches : 34.6 x 28.3 x 16.5
Bronze -
Sculpture | Cms : 90.17 x 69.85 x 43.942 | Inches : 35.5 x 27.5 x 17.3
Bronze -
Sculpture | Cms : 99.06 x 68.58 x 25.4 | Inches : 39 x 27 x 10
Bronze -
Painting | Cms : 46.99 x 63.5 | Inches : 18.5 x 25
Watercolour on Paper -
Sculpture | Cms : 78.74 x 60.96 x 33.02 | Inches : 31 x 24 x 13
Bronze
