Sanat Kar, an important figure in Indian art from Santiniketan, died on January 9. Born in 1935 in West Bengal, Kar was a veteran in the practice and education of printmaking, and had a long association with Kala Bhavana, the centre for visual art practice and research at Visva Bharati University, Santiniketan. Kar joined the printmaking (graphics) department in 1974, went on to head the department and retired as principal of Kala Bhavana in 1995. Former professor of history of art at Kala Bhavana, R Siva Kumar, posted on social media, “An artist who inherited the imaginative world of the Bengal School and created prints and paintings that oscillated between the lyrical and the occasionally unsettling, [Kar] will be remembered for his experiments in intaglio printmaking. Since 1974 he lived and worked at Santiniketan and was a prominent member of its art community.” Kumar, who joined Kala Bhavana as a student the same year that Kar joined as faculty, said that Kar introduced new materials as matrices for printmaking. Instead of traditional materials, Kar was able to effectively use plywood and several kinds of plastic materials. With intaglio printmaking, Kar was able to use wood and cheaper materials and made it possible for younger artists and students to get access to the process, Kumar said. “Besides these innovations, he was an enthusiastic teacher,” Kumar added, recalling how Kar and the late Somnath Hore worked together and made the printmaking department “a fairly active place”. Kar lived in Santiniketan from 1974 till his passing. He graduated from the Government College of Art & Craft in Kolkata with a diploma in painting. Aside from printmaking, Kar was also a painter and often using tempera. His art is known for its surreal and dream-like qualities. 📣 For more lifestyle news, follow us on Instagram | Twitter | Facebook and don't miss out on the latest updates!
