Selected Art Works for Sale and Review

A renowned International artist, poet and an editor of an English literary Magazine in India. He has been conferred 'Satya Shiva Sundar' , a highest honour by The district Council of Culture, Kalahandi, and Lalitkala Academy, Odisha, India. 2010. In 2008, ArtVenture, a philanthropic world organization in association with ARTICLE 19, based in London and Singapore had projected Albert Ashok as their featured artist in their global electronic mediums.

Sunday, January 8, 2023

Paintings on everlasting love

Throughout My life, I had expressed honour and love towards women. The following paintings are documents. Most paintings are on women, motherhood, and horse riding. there are a lot of charcoal drawings on women's life

in 2007, Baul song size 24x36 inches on canvas

sketch on paper

Music and Ecstasy, watercolour on paper 30x22 inches 2006

Happiness. 30 x 48 inches on canvas

Happy moments 2. 24 x 36 inches on canvas. 2015

Happy Moments III 5x 3 ft on canvas 2015

Humanoid I. 5x3Feet 2016

Midnight talk II, Acrylic on canvas 5 x 3 feet 2016

Flutist s inspiration 24 x 30 in acrylic 2018

10.

Relation_White cloth and the moon 30 x 36 inches Acrylic on canvas 2018

11.

Relation_meeting after 20 yrs 30 x 36 in Acrylic on canvas 2018

12.

Bonding 11x 8 inches on paper, sketch

13.

Hanging pink cloud balls. 122 x150 cm Acrylic colour on canvas 2019

14.

Happy Moment iv. 4x5 ft, acrylic on canvas. 2019

15.

The Pink Horizon, 4x5 ft, Acrylic on canvas 2019

16.

The primitive sin, 3 x 5 feet, acrylic on canvas 2019

Monday, February 26, 2018

Against War, Terrorism and Corruption: Paintings created by Albert Ashok

When The Wall Street Journal journalist Daniel Pearl, an American citizen of Jewish heritage, was kidnapped and later murdered by terrorists in Karachi, Pakistan, in February 2002, I was deeply shocked. As an ordinary Indian, I began to see terrorism as a grave threat to global peace. I felt that ordinary people have nothing to gain from war and terrorism and that both should be opposed and stopped. They have devastating consequences for the economy, peace, and human dignity.

At that time, I was not yet a professional painter. I loved drawing and painting, but as a poor person, I could not afford to buy canvases and paints. However, the shock of Pearl's murder affected me deeply and haunted me with the feeling that I had to do something to condemn such a heinous crime against humanity.

In 2005, I created several drawings and watercolour works expressing my contempt for terrorism and terrorists. Some of these works used deliberately provocative imagery to convey my anger and condemnation of their crimes.

A small factual note: Daniel Pearl was kidnapped in January 2002 and murdered in February 2002. I also changed “American and Israeli citizenship” because describing him simply as an American journalist of Jewish heritage is more accurate unless you specifically have a reliable source establishing dual citizenship

Creating art requires training; after all, these are works of art, not merely illustrations or images produced for publication. Fortunately, I had some knowledge of anatomical and life drawing, which gave me a foundation to begin. I started creating a few watercolour works. One of them was titled “Three Depressed Militants.”

In 2007, I managed to save enough money to buy canvases and paint a large work entitled “The Killers.”

At that time, I participated in a group exhibition at the Birla Academy of Art and Culture. In 2008, I entered the international “Freedom to Create Prize,” organized by the philanthropic organization ArtVenture. Approximately 800 participants from around 80 countries took part in the competition. The organization featured my work internationally through its website.

This recognition encouraged me in my largely solitary effort to use art to speak out against political murder, terrorism, and other forms of injustice against humanity.

Mask for Killings

Leaders of countries determining border

A brute force

I am an unfortunate man from India. I had no formal school education because of poverty, and consequently I was unable to obtain regular employment. I loved art and literature and wanted to write books about them, but I had very few resources. For much of my life, I have had no permanent home, no stable income, and very little security. I live in West Bengal, India, where I have experienced a life of great hardship and, at times, what I have felt to be indifference and inhumanity.

At times, I have found myself wondering whether I should continue my struggle or give up. Yet I take some consolation from the fact that, whether I live or die, I have tried to make my life meaningful. I have written around a hundred books, which have reached a large number of readers and have been published by about two dozen publishers, although I have not received the royalties or payments due to me.

My landlord has given me notice to vacate because I have been unable to pay the rent. I cannot blame him; the rent from his property is his source of income. My paintings are not selling, and I feel that the state government is largely indifferent to the difficulties faced by people like me, being more concerned with politics and the pursuit of power. I also feel that much of the media—journals, periodicals, and television—is increasingly driven by commercial interests.

Under these circumstances, I sometimes feel that there is very little hope. Before my voice disappears completely, I want people to know that an ordinary person struggled hard to live, create, and contribute to society, but often found himself without the support he needed from the community around him.

Perhaps I will still create a few more paintings before my voice falls silent. In 2016, I painted a series of horse riders entitled “Chaos in Wonderland: The Naked King.” These paintings continue to explore what I see as politically uncomfortable realities. In them, the leaders of nations appear naked and unworthy, detached from the suffering of ordinary people. War and terrorism continue to destroy people's lives, while poverty and hunger persist. I believe that the indifference of governments and the pursuit of power and wealth at the expense of ordinary people deserve to be condemned.

My style of painting is based on geometry and the use of multi-sided forms. I call it “Redefined Cubism.” It involves blending or merging contrasting qualities—hard and soft, solid and liquid—within figurative forms.

I became fascinated by Cubism during my early years of learning to paint. From 1982 onward, I experimented with depicting animal forms through geometric patterns. At that time, I had very little money for art materials, so I restricted myself largely to pen-and-paper drawings and black-and-white sketches.

From 1983 onward, I went through considerable hardship, but I continued to practise drawing. In 2013, I resumed my earlier ambition of exploring geometric forms inspired by Cubism. Through extensive research and experimentation, I gradually developed my own approach, which I call “Redefined Cubism.” My work seeks to blend or merge contrasting effects, such as solid and hard forms with soft and fluid forms, within a single figurative composition.

I also apply three fundamental elements in the process of creating my paintings. Through these experiments, I have tried to develop a distinctive visual language of my own.

I hope my paintings will earn your attention, provoke thought, and perhaps touch you in some way. Anyway, I invite you to look at them and form your own judgment.

Friday, February 9, 2018

New art Works: recent paintings 2018

New paintings for sale:

that are available

Contact: Albert Ashok, albertashok@yahoo.com Kolkata, Mobile: 9330858536

Recent works 2018 My Bio-data click

The Flutist's Inspiration, size: 24 x 30 inches, Medium: Acrylic on Canvas

The Flutist, size: 24 x 30 inches, Medium: Acrylic on Canvas

Mom Lisa, size: 36 x 30 inches, Medium: Acrylic on Canvas

A Fruitful tree, 15 x 20 in Acrylic on canvas

Expression I 17x19 inches, acrylic on canvas

Expression II , 17x19 inches, acrylic on canvas

Fruit Bearing Tree, 24 x 30 inches Acrylic on canvas

The Naked King 24 x 36 inches, acrylic on Canvas

Meeting, 24 x 30 inches, Acrylic on canvas

Blue Lagoon I , 36 x 15 inches , acrylic on canvas

Blue Lagoon II , 36 x 15 inches , acrylic on canvas

Contact: Albert Ashok, albertashok@yahoo.com Kolkata , Mobile: 9330858536

Earlier, recent works and Paper cuttings

"In this contemporary political scenario, Chaos is my best man. He strikes us with wonder and deception; he is an avenger as well as a magician. Chaos has no definite face, body or structure. It is ambivalent and elusive to the senses. His subjects are perversely grotesque and unpredictably mild.

This series of paintings portray the many dimensions of chaos, its subliminal, historic and metaphoric influences in our lives. Hope you all enjoy these paintings as much as I did while working on them over a significant phase of my life."
- Albert Ashok

Chaos in Wonderland

Solo exhibition card

AduurI ( sweet heart) 18 x 24 inches acrylic on canvas

The Floating clouds 30 x 36 inches Acrylic on canvas
"You will not see the sweet blue sky always. How we see different kinds of clouds in the sky; black and white, heavy and light, opaque and luminous, some are murderous and assaulting as well. This thought moved me to paint a woman lost in appreciating the uncertainty."

Blood River, Acrylic on canvas 5 x 3 feet

Blood River! Time is changed. and has been changing. War torn cities gushing and flowing blood like rivers. The menace of terrorism and religion based politics from middle-east Asia appears in the global platform. The aggressive nature of authoritarian country with leftist last straw hits all the civilians in most countries. The Boko haram, ISIS, Taliban as terror outfit with their guerrilla style - butchering innocent people. Human rights are divided on murderers, some advocate impunity some want punishment. We human beings are killed politically religiously and economically like cattle, and are frightened. Like rust in the iron scrap, our existence are waiting for to be dumped. Where is Humanity? What is future of this planet?

Bull Head 18 x 24 inches acrylic on canvas

Fowl Play, Acrylic on canvas 5 x 3 feet

Life means achieving something. Wherever you go whatever you do you always wanted to some achievements. But do we really achieve something? In my wonderland, I find in reality we are happy after geting some fowl. In most cases, common people – are reluctant to catch a big fish, It never matters to them whether they are naked, or they have any shelter. They never incensed by the life that plays foul with them and cheating them from achieving big something.

Fruit bearing tree, 24 x 30 inches acrylic on canvas

Liberation, Acrylic on canvas 5 x 3 feet

Liberation! Sexual aggression on female is the basic instinct what male acquired from evolution.it resides in every male being and this aggression is an immense force for male to win the hostile circumstances and from other species, If you remove this property from male being the human race will be at stake.No physical strength will be found in men and human race clock will be stopped. But this sexual aggression is a utmost fear for woman. Woman want a world where she has no fear from man. This is her liberation. Through the human history, we saw women are protected by the same man force she fears, from animal attacks, natural calamities,catastrophe and warfare. Still, woman want liberation, and liberation is her born rights.

Midnight talk II, Acrylic on canvas 5 x 3 feet

Midnight Moon, 24 x 30 inches acrylic on canvas

Otherside of the fence 30x 36 inches Acrylic on canvas

Pink Horizon 5 x 4 feet acrylic on canvas

Sound from a Lifeless Guitar 30 x 36 inches Acrylic on canvas

Sound from a Lifeless Guitar! A guitar is made of wooden body and steel string. It’s a lifeless thing, it cant generate sound unless a living soul touches it. Human life is also like a non-living guitar. It cant strum the right note. A few men women are worth the earthly living. And the rest appear and disappear with time. No footmarks or sound you will hear from them.

The wonder and excitement of Nature 30 x 36 Acrylic on canvas

Troubled life 18x 24 inches acrylic on canvas

Salvation: (two musician) 60 x 48 inches acrylic on canvas

When life fails to deliver you from suffering, Music does.

Not available

Happy Moments -III

The Terrible and the lyrical

The Paintings of Albert Ashok and Samarendra Kumar Datta

Diversity of form in contemporary painting is extensive, as it contains all the legacies of the past not only of our country but also of the various trends through out the world. An artist builds up his own form through selection and synthesis of various inheritances according to his/her own motivation and world out look. Our modernity started with assimilation of western naturalism during the middle of nineteenth century. The second trend of the modernity grew out of the rebellion against such foreign invasion that prompted the artists towards the search for an indigenous identity out of a nationalist ideology delving deeper into the legacy of our classical and popular past. The forms of neo-Indian school thus generated. All the subsequent developments till modernist and Post- modern have grown out of these two basic structures.

The present duet show of the two artists Albert Ashok and Samarendra Kumar Datta is based on two basic trends of the initial phase of our modernity, that is western naturalism and indigenous heritage. The trends are naturally diverse. But the variation endows the show with a different charm revealing how the contemporary life contains the stresses growing out of its complexities and at the same time sublimates the same towards an enchantment and divine beauty.

Albert Ashok is a self made man whose artistic faculty has developed out of his struggling interaction with the life. Born in Agartala of Tripura in 1961 has lost his mother at the age of one and half. The struggle started there. When he was eight or nine, he felt he had an indomitable urge for artistic creativity. But finding no way out he fled from his home at the age of seventeen in search of art. He learnt painting through strife with this life.The life was very much real to him. He might have felt that he could express this dissension through realism, and the reality could best be captured through naturalist form. After conquering a good grasp on naturalism, he deviated. Naturalism has its own limitation. But if it can be energized with subsequent trends of distortions and geometrical innovations, It can delve deeper into reality and also super-reality. At a certain stage Albert converted his realism into fantasy to reveal the deeper mystery of life, of love and sexuality. Out of this fantasy and a mystery a different kind of beauty was revealed to him. He could extract beauty out of struggle of life. He endowed his naturalism with cubist geometrical structure. The synthesis revealed the contradiction between the beauty and the horrid and also how the terrible can be resurrcted towards the pleasant. The present series of paintings shown in this exhibition is built out of this philosophy. Where pastoral cows contain the metropolitan violence and complexities, and the ‘bathing woman’ reveal within her lyrical and bucolic charm an intricate strife with this life. He has made a successful admixture of urban and rural ethos.

Mrinal Ghosh
29.05.2015

Wonderland-Fantasy

Recent Paintings of Albert Ashok

The title of the exhibition of the present series of paintings by Albert Ashok, which happens to be his 7^th solo is ‘Human, Humanoid and Poetry in Wonderland’. He has some preference for the world of grotesque and fantasy, which he calls ‘Wonderland’. He titled his last exposition as ‘Chaos in Wonderland’. This wonderland is not far off from his existence, from the environment he lives in, that is from the contemporary times. But in the process of fantasizing, the known world and the present time gets transformed. Elements of past and future, elements of myth and imaginary world creep in. But the aim of the artist is to unmask the various layers of reality that darkens the present state of existence. Albert is basically a romantic rebellion. The absurdity of contemporary existence haunts him. He tries to find a way out, some times in the form of anguish, often in the form of apparent sobriety and lyrical transcendence. In this exhibition there are works of both these trends,

Fantasy is an essential mode of expression in visual arts. Literally or lexically the word means an imagined state of situation usually pleasant and often to some extent caustic or sarcastic. In Greek aesthetics the entire field of expression used to be classified in two streams: mimesis and fantasia. Mimesis reflected the natural. When the image deviated from the natural, it used to be categorized as fantasia. In Indian classical aesthetics the term ‘chamatkara’ was devised by the aesthetician Visvanatha to indicate the essence of fantasy. Abhinabagupta, another aesthetician assimilated ‘chamatkara’ with ‘rasa’ to give the term greater validity. However in Indian classicism ‘chamatkara’ was elevated to the state of the transcendental. But the situation of primitivist and modernist art is different. In both these trends fantasy is a general and very significant trend of expression that tends to enter deeper both to mystify and demystify the reality, to dissect it. Fantasy is often used as a form of rebellion, as has been done in expressionism, cubism and surrealism.

The forms of Albert Ashok are based on naturalism. He transforms the voluminous illusionist three dimensional rendering into a state of comic ridiculous situation to mimic the pseudo-valor and expanded egoistic ambition of human being, often to find a pleasant situation to indicate peace and tranquility. The way he transforms the natural is akin to the ridiculous situation of fantasy. When he tries for tranquility his expressions reflect some elements of ‘chamatkara’.

Albert Ashok is a self made man and self taught artist. From a blank situation he has struggled hard to come to his present position of an established artist. The struggle has given him an insight to look into and realize the human situation and the state of affairs through which the contemporary civilization is soaring high with a deep void within it. To him the entire situation is ridiculous, a sort of wonderland and pulsating with a possibility of annihilation. His fantasy grows out of this void.

In the present exhibition we see his large format canvases painted in acrylic showing various forms of fantasy, vibrant and tranquil. In the painting titled ‘Humanoid’ he paints a couple on horse back. Out of the dynamism he extracts a sense of void. In ‘Happy Moments’ a couple sits on a sofa, the man with a guitar in hand, the woman with a book. In some of the other works like ‘Sohag’, where a woman takes a bath in a pond, ‘The Blue Musician’ playing guitar, ‘Yellow Bird and a Cowherd’, a pleasant pastoral scene, the artist creates different faces of ‘Wonderland’. The myth is far from existing reality. ‘Wonderland’ is a tragic void.

MRINAL GHOSH (Ananada Bazar Patrika)

4 Feb 2016