BEGINNINGS
He was born in Daharpara Village, Faridpur, Bangladesh.
His father Pramatnath Chowdhury was a Brahmin zamindar.
Both his parents took interest in art, his father painted several mythological scenes from the village theatres and also sculpted various Hindu icons. Where as his mother was an expert in Alpana drawings.
1939-47 He lived in a village atmosphere.
1947 Just before partition Jogen and his father shifted to Calcutta. And after partition in 1948, the whole family shifted.
Till 1951 the whole family stayed at the police department quarter of his uncle, where on the walls Jogen painted his first painting, Calcutta.
1951 The family shifted to another house in Saheednagar Colony, Dhakuria, Calcutta.
1962 He was employed as Designer in the Handloom Board, Calcutta.
1967 Stayed in London for five months.
1968 He comes back to India from Paris.
1968-72 He worked as an Art-Designer, Madras Handloom Board, Madras.
1970 Joined `Calcutta Painters` group.
1970 A collection of his
EDUCATION
1955-60 Studied at Govt. College of Art & Crafts, Calcutta, under Prodosh Dasgupta, Gopal Ghose, Rathin Maitra, Satyan Ghosal, Kishori Ray, Maniklal Banerjee, Sunil Pal, Dhiren Brahma, Debkumar Roychowdhury, Makhon Dasgupta, Anil Roychowdhury, Haren Das and Sushil Sen.1960 After passing out from college he joined the studio of Academy of Fine Arts, Calcutta.1965 Received French Government Scholarship to L?Ecole Nationale, Superieure des Beaux-Arts, Paris, where he learnt Italian Mosaic from Maestro Likatar and fresco from Maestro Barthole.Also learnt etching in the studio of William Hayter, Atelier 17, Paris.
EXHIBITIONS
1957-80 Exhb., Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi. 1963 Solo exhb., Academy of Fine Arts, Calcutta. 1965 Solo exhb., Banga Sanskriti Sammelan, Calcutta. 1967 Exhb. of his oil paintings, Gallerie du Haut Pave, Paris. 1968 Solo exhb., Alliance Franciase, Madras. 1970,90 Solo exhb. Sarla Art Centre, Madras. 1970 Exhb. of `Calcutta Painters`, Birla Academy of Art and Culture, Calcutta. 1973 International Exhb., Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi. 1973 Exhb., AIFACS, New Delhi. 1976 Solo exhb., Indian High Commission, Paris. 1976 Invited to participate in International Exhb., France. 1977 Pictorial Space, curated by Geeta Kapur, Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi. 1977 Solo exhb., Gallery Chanakya, New Delhi. 1978 New Contemporary, curated by Gulam Mohammed Sheikh, organised by Marg and Indian Association for Appreciation for Art. 1979 Participated in Sao Paulo, Brazil. 1980 Group exhb. in Dubai. 1980 Group show, Masanori Fukuoka & Glenbarra Museum, Hemeji. 1981 Solo exhb
COLLECTION
Deutsche Bank (India), Bombay.Masanori Fukuoka & Glenbarra Museum, Hemeji, Japan.Chester & Davida Hertwitz Collection, Boston, USA.Victoria & Albert Museum, London.Victoria and Albert Museum, London.National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi.Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi.Madhavan Nair Foundation, Cochin.Glenbara Art Museum, Japan.Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi & Madras.Roopankar Museum of Fine Arts, Bharat Bhavan, Bhopal.Punjab State Museum, Chandigarh.Panjab University Museum, Chandigarh.Sahitya Kala Parishad, New Delhi.Birla Academy of Art and Culture, Calcutta.
AWARDS
1959 Awarded, for his watercolour painting, Academy of Fine Arts and Govt. College of Art and Craft, Calcutta.1963 Awarded, Academy of Fine Arts, Calcutta.1966 Received La-France Award, Paris.1966 He was rated amongst the ten best artists, Paris.1986 Awarded at the International Exhb., Havana, Cuba.1995 Awarded at the Third International Exhb., Bharat Bhavan, Bhopal.
STYLE
During his college days, Jogen worked with a confident expressionistic style of figuration, but from the mid-60s his language of expression underwent a change, it acquired a distinctive edge. His three years sojourn in Paris reinforced the thought processes that triggered this change. He began to be increasingly conscious of the Indian identity. Along with this concern, two other key elements surfaced in his work, firstly the note of biting satire and secondly the metaphors of sexuality, which still dominate in his recent works.
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
1960-62 Taught art in a school, Howrah.
1987 Joined as Reader, Kala Bhavan, Visva Bharati, Santiniketan.
2000 Retired as Principal and Professor, Kala Bhavan, Visva Bharati, Santiniketan.
