Sourov Garai

(b. 1997, Kolkata, West Bengal)

"My paintings are full of emotion, inspired by music, poetry, film and live experiences. These visuals are painted to bring together the resonance of what constitutes life.

This evolving body of work explores themes such as time, memory, loss, and climate change through images that provoke deep contemplation. What might first appear as simple representations—animals, landscapes, and children—are laden with symbolic elements like footprints and dry rivers, thunderstorms and rising waves, and the ambient light of dusk. These elements evoke a sense of passage and the fleeting nature of the moments we live in. These images serve as a cathartic means to convey empathy and invite slow, careful observation."

Sourov completed his BFA in Painting from Visva Bharati University, Kolkata (2019) and MFA from Shiv Nadar University, Dadri (2021). His current series of works is based on the various themes of leisure, loss, unforeseen calamity, climate change, and its immediate and far-reaching impact. In his works, he composes images that operate at the intersection of such varied thoughts, finding himself at the juncture of contemporary time, exploring the inter-relationship in the world today. The imagery in his works depict a denser premise for sensitive viewing such as the use of footprints, dry river, abandoned well, conveying a sense of passage. The series demonstrates a burst of ‘images’ that carry emotion more than anything. Through his works, he communicates empathy by visually imagining himself and viewers in a similar situation. His recent exhibitions include, ‘First Take’, Abir (2023); Online Kochi-Muziris Students’ Biennale (2021) among others.

Sourov currently lives and works in Kolkata.

Sourov Garai

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