Born on 19 February 1939 in Daharpara, Faridpur (now in Bangladesh), Jogen Chowdhury is one of India’s most celebrated contemporary artists. His family migrated to Kolkata following the Partition of India, an experience that profoundly shaped his artistic vision and understanding of identity, displacement, and human emotion.
He studied at the Government College of Art & Craft, Kolkata, graduating in 1960, before receiving a French Government scholarship to continue his education at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris (1965–1967). His exposure to European modernism, combined with his deep connection to Indian artistic traditions, helped him develop a highly distinctive visual language.
Jogen Chowdhury is renowned for his expressive figurative paintings characterized by fluid contour lines, intricate cross-hatching, and subtly distorted human forms. Working primarily in ink, pastel, watercolour, and oil, his works explore themes of human relationships, social realities, political tensions, and the complexities of modern life. His unmistakable style has made him one of the defining voices of contemporary Indian art.
