Jatin Das

Jatin Das was born in the year 1941 in the Mayurbhanj district of Orissa. He was raised in a middle class Bengali family. Throughout his childhood, he was exposed to art in the form of music as in those days the very way of worshipping deities was through music. Having been brought up in an atmosphere where music was a way of life, a young Jatin grew into becoming a huge music lover. So much so, that during his stay in Bombay, he would spend many of his nights listening to concerts held by maestros like Bade Ghulam Ali Khan. From 1957 to 1962, Jatin received training from Professor S.B. Palsikar in the field of art at the famous Sir J. J. School of Art in Bombay. Soon after completing his education, he started his painting career.

Career

Jatin Das displayed his works at the newly opened gallery of his art school in the year 1962. This was his first among many such exhibitions that would follow later on in his career. After gaining confidence from his first show, he thenbegan participating in various art exhibitions, both at the national and international level. Some of the important exhibitions in which he displayed his works of art include the Biennales in Paris in 1971, the Documenta in Kessel in 1975, and the art exhibitions of Venice in the year 1978.In his glittering career which has spanned over 50 years, Jatin Das has had more than 68 solo exhibitions. In between 1965 to 1991 alone, Jatin Das organized thirty seven solo exhibitions, both national and international. Fourteen limited editions of his theme-based graphics and conte drawings have been displayed in countries like India, Germany and in the U.K. Many of his works have been auctioned at prestigious auctions like Christie’s, Sotheby’s and Osian’s. Over the years, he has also contributed towards art in the form of outstanding murals and sculptures.He has also worked as an advisor to many private and government organizations. Jatin Das also served as the Consultant to the Handicraft Board for the seven northeastern states in India, for the ‘Festival of India’ organized in Russia. Jatin Das has also been on the jury panel for the National Film Festival. He is one of the founder members of ‘The Poetry Society’, New Delhi. He also founded the JD Centre of Art, and works as its Chairman. JD Centre of Art is a private non-commercial institution, which aims at promoting contemporary and traditional visual and plastic arts.The impressive edifice, which was designed by the famous architect BV Doshi, stands at Bhubaneswar, Odisha.

Career

In the year 2008, Jatin Das served as a professor at the well-known Jamia Millia Islamia University in New Delhi. From the year 2009 to 2011, he worked as visiting professor at the same university. This time around, he was included as one of the members of Faculty of Fine Arts. He has also worked as a visiting professor in a number of prestigious colleges and schools including National School of Drama, School of Planning and Architecture, College of Art and National Institute of Design.

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