Humans are capable of showing at least 27 distinct emotions, and an ongoing art exhibition on human expressions here takes viewers through many of them.

Charcoal artist Arunkumar Chatterjee, an NGO worker from Bihar but based in Maharashtra’s Latur, has built upon numerous emotions he has encountered over his life, to create his Expressions series.

His exhibition Journey of Life opened for the public at the India International Centre (IIC) on Wednesday.

Subtle yet powerful, the paintings turn into mirrors for the viewers when they depict everyday emotions like cheerfulness, hatred, suspicion, euphoria, morbid curiosity and vengefulness, among others.

Chatterjee’s long, human faces might appear similar at first but reveal much more on a closer look. Take his work showing ‘resentment’, which shows two figures, one with an open eye leaning towards the other.

He has studied fine arts in Patna and Khairgarh, followed by residency scholarships in Beijing and Tokyo. The charcoal work, once taken up by Chatterjee because charcoal is one of the least expensive mediums as compared to oil or acrylic, has kept him company through his travels to various cities.

Art, he told IANS, runs in his family with his grandfather being the courtroom artist for a royal family in Bihar’s Darbhanga.

Journey of Life displays 10 years of the artist’s work. It will run till July 16.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)

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First Published: Jul 11, 2019 15:41 IST