BEGINNINGS
He was born in Bankura, West Bengal.
1921-22 His posters and portraits of the nationalist leaders during Non-Cooperation Movement got him noticed by Ramanand Chatterjee.
1925 Came to Santiniketan.
He was the first artist in Santiniketan to use oil paint and do distinctly modern and abstract works.
He is also known as the `Pioneer of Modern Indian Sculpture`.
EDUCATION
1925-29 Diploma in Fine Arts, Kala Bhavan, Visva Bharati, Santiniketan.
EXHIBITIONS
1950, 51 Realities Nouvelle, Paris. Calcutta Group exhb., Calcutta.1960-61 Exhb., Visva Bharati, Santiniketan.Exhb. of Paintings, Sketches and Sculptures, Calcutta Arts Council, Calcutta.1972 Exhb., Birla Academy of Art and Culture, Calcutta.1974 Tokyo exhb., Japan.1979 Asian Art Exhb., Tokyo.1990 Retrospective, National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi.1991 Exhb., presented by National Gallery of Modern Art and Nag Foundation, Bal Gangadhar Kala Dalan, Pune.1995 Man and Nature: Reflections of Six Artists, curated by Keshav Malik, Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage and National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi.1995 Old Masters, Taj Palace Intercontinental, New Delhi.1997 Santiniketan: The Making of a Contextual Modernism, curated by R. Siva Kumar, National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi.2003 Manifestations, organised by Delhi Art Gallery, World Trade Center, Mumbai and Delhi Art Gallery, New Delhi.2004 Manifestations II, organised by Delhi A
COLLECTION
Kala Bhavan, Santiniketan.Late Rani Chanda Collection.Academy of Fine Arts, Kolkata.H.K. Kejriwal Collection and Karnataka Chitrakala Parishad, Bengalooru.Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi.National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi.Reserve Bank of India, New Delhi.Jane and Kito de Boer, Dubai.Delhi Art Gallery, New Delhi.
STYLE
Baij took a great interest in human figures, body language, and in the general human drama. Modern Western Art and pre and post- classical Indian Art were his main point of reference. He used local material advantageously,including concrete and worked combining the skills of a modeller and a carver. His paintings too take on Expressionist dimensions like his sculptures, which are filled with an all embracing force and vitality.
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Head of the Sculpture Deptt., Kala Bhavan, Santiniketan.
