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An exhibition showcasing the spirit of complete immersion in Arts, titled "Light Of Spring" is about to start at "Debovasha - the abode of books and art" on February 16, 2021, at 6 pm, to pay homage to Goddess Saraswati. This will be a solo exhibition of Artist Reba Hore's paintings. Yes, a solo painting exhibition of the same Reba Hore who had quietly kept herself away from limelight throughout her life and devoted herself to the celebration of Goddess Saraswati, the divine epitome of learning, acumen for arts, knowledge, wisdom, proficiency in fine arts. Her journey had been her only joy. Her quest was for discovering the nuances of her art, not for publicity or success.
Born in 1926, we would be reaching her Birth Centenary in five more years. Had she been alive, she would have turned 95 in 2021.
While writing about her own self, she had written in her memoir titled "Aamar Kotha - Kichhu Michhu", "Who Am I?" (Identity)
A homo sapien who's trying to become a true complete human being with all kinds of virtues and vices. This attempt goes on at times in the conscious mind and at times in the subconscious."
After graduating in Economics, she enrolled as a student of the Government Art College. Even before getting admitted in the Art College, she had become a member of the Communist Party in 1948. In 1951, she joined St John's Diocesan School, as an Art Teacher. In 1954, she tied the knot with artist Somnath Hore to begin their journey of togetherness. That was the year when a joint exhibition of Somnath and Reba's works took place at Chowringhee Terrace.
In her autobiography, while writing about her paintings, Reba had said, "I'm an individual dependent on emotions. Emotional. My paintings are mostly spontaneous. There is an idea, a theme. That comes from what I think, what I see in my surroundings, things that move me.
That comes as a pretext, an occasion; it gets built up in the use of colour-mass, controlled by the speed of brush movements. A painting comes into being as a result of conscious and subconscious attempts."
Her life was spent in Kolkata, Delhi, and in closeness to Shantiniketan's greenery.
Artist Jaynul Abedin had guided her in her artistic journey. In Reba's words, some advices from Jaynul that she got in the artist's Park Circus residence in Kolkata had been eye-openers for her.
This exhibition of Reba Hore's works is, in reality, not just an "exhibition" - it's a homage to be paid, by kneeling down for a few sacred moments, before an illustrious life, talent, and profound wisdom.
The exhibition is going to have more than a hundred of her previously un-displayed works - Unseen Reba Hore. It will have her works dating from various time periods. These include her creations with pastel, oil paint, watercolour, mixed medium, and of course terracotta.
All these works have been available, courtesy Chandana Hore, the artist's daughter. Artist Chandana Hore's intricate observations about her mother help us pick the underlying note of Reba Hore's life. "In her personal life, she had always looked for her own identity, through the gaps and holes in the boundaries around her put by the various roles she had to play in life. She had been the daughter of a reputed Judge, wife of a renowned artist, an active participant in a turbulent political movement, a caregiving daughter to an unwell mother, a mother to a little daughter - these were the roles while playing which she had kept her artistic mind and identity alive. To me, this is "Struggle". I know that her life as an artist had been a source of divine joy to her, till the last day of her life. At times, she had been able to receive this joy, and at times she had been steadfast in the warmth of personal relationships."
The painting exhibition at "Debovasha - the abode of books and art" of the Saraswati Impersonated Reba Hore's works is our way of getting connected with her devoted and immersive pursuit of arts - the art of painting being a divine discipline that flows from Devi Saraswati.
Your presence is highly solicited.
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Debovasha দেবভাষা, 9/2 Fern Road, Kolkata, West Bengal, India 700019, India