Today we’d like to introduce you to Sayak Mitra.
Hi Sayak, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I was born and raised in Konnagar, a suburb of Kolkata (formerly known as Calcutta). I started drawing with crayons on the wall in our house at a very early age like all the other kids in my society. My first inspiration of art-making was political propaganda graffiti in my state of West Bengal. In the 1990’s, I observed hand-painted political party symbols, cartoons and typography, which attracted me to the interesting imagery presented. Since then, I have been practicing art, which led me to exhibiting in galleries regularly. I graduated as an electrical engineer from West Bengal University of Technology but did not pursue that career after graduation; instead I decided to study Multimedia Art at Jadavpur University which expanded my horizon of art-making.
I was blessed that I connected with some of the best artists in Kolkata, and a few became my mentors: Biren Goutam, Samaresh Chowdhury and Partha Dasgupta. Along with my gallery exhibitions, my day job was a web designer in several IT and Media firms. I was awarded the prestigious Atul Bose Award from the Academy of Fine Arts in Kolkata. I was also nominated for several emerging artist awards in Kolkata and New Delhi through Aakriti Art Gallery and Art Positive respectively. My works have now been shown in many galleries in Kolkata and abroad.
Eight years ago, I met my spouse Tracy Stum in Kolkata while she was conducting a street painting workshop program through Kolkata American Center. Three years ago, I came to the United States and we now live in Ventura. After I moved from Kolkata to Los Angeles, I began developing a new unique visual language using local vernacular vocabulary in conjunction with my native culture. The last three years, I have been represented by a Los Angeles based gallery, Dab Art, and a New Jersey based gallery, Mana Contemporary. In June 2020, I had a solo show at Mana Contemporary’s Digital Open House. My latest video art will be screened at a Chicago based gallery soon!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Working as a visual artist is not a smooth road and historically speaking it never has been! I was raised in a culturally aware family in terms of practicing of Indian Classical music but to my knowledge no one had chosen to be a visual artist before me. As a matter of fact, it was a kind of daydream to me to think that art practice could be a profession. I feel amazed and blessed that I found some wonderful instructors and mentors who have shown me the path. I think the hardest part of my journey as a self-taught artist was finding a serious artist collective/community. In Kolkata, my friends and I formed a group called Ocular which had been very helpful to my art career while I was in India.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a multi-disciplinary conceptual visual artist. In the last seventeen years of art practice, I have experimented with traditional art and media art. While I have been choosing mediums according to my ideas, I do explore the possibilities of the medium itself. I am known mainly for my socio-political and culturally sarcastic visual content. What am I most proud of? Wow, that’s a tough question to answer for any creative person! In my opinion, nothing is new in the world and humans are rediscovering something everyday. While I continue to question my observations, curiosity keeps me moving forward. As I strive to avoid making the same image or picture repeatedly, I’m aware of art history while staying abreast of current contemporary movements. Along with this, I am always observing the relationship between my art and myself, particularly how society relates with my creation. It’s a kind of a constant search and experiment, which stimulates my creativity and brings more motivation.
What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
Most important lesson I got from the great Indian monk philosopher Swami Vivekananda is ‘everything you are looking for is inside you’. This lesson has been proven in the art journey numerous times. Another lesson I have learned from one of my favourite American artist Robert Rauscheberg is 1. Learn from everything and anything. 2. Collaborate, share and be generous. 3. Follow your heart. Follow where things take you.
Pricing:
- 16 inch x 20 inch painting starts from 1300 USD
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: http://sayakmitra.in
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sayakmitra/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sayakmitra.art/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/getsayak2006
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFsEk-rZFB-BtHx5nKxF94w
- Other: https://www.artsy.net/artist/sayak-mitra
Image Credits
Tracy Lee Stum
