Jogen Chowdhury

1939

Is born on 15 February in Daharpara village, now in Bangladesh.

1951

His family moves out of his uncle’s house to live in Dhakuria. Chowdhury begins attending literary meets across the city.

1955-60

Is a student at Government College of Arts and Crafts, Calcutta. Becomes a film buff during this period, enjoys world cinema.

1957

Paints the pensive Portrait of My Boudi and another pastel of his sister, Namita.

1958

Receives awards for his watercolours from the Academy of Fine Arts, Calcutta, as well as the Calcutta University Institute Exhibition.

1959

Receives a gold medal in watercolour painting from the Academy of Fine Arts, and the Government College of Arts and Crafts.

1960

Starts working as an arts teacher at the Howrah Zilla School as well as at the Studio of Academy of Fine Arts, Calcutta. Receives an award for an oil painting at an art exhibition in Sreerampur, West Bengal.

Early 1960s

Continues to paint nude studies based on life models.

1963

Has his first solo show at the Academy of Fine Arts.

1965-67

Receives a government scholarship to study at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts, and Atelier 17, both in Paris. Travels and spends five months in London.

1966

Receives the Prix le France de la Jeune Peinture, Paris.

1966-67

Has a solo show of his oil paintings at Galerie de Haut Pave, Paris.

1968-72

Returns to India from London and works for the Weavers’ Service Centre in Madras. Continues to paint.

1970

Joins Calcutta Painters group. Publishes his first collection of poems, Hridoy Train Beje Othey. Showcases his ink and mixed media works on paper at Sarla Art Centre, Madras.

1971

Takes part in the second International Triennale, New Delhi, organised by the Lalit Kala Akademi.

1972

Quits his job at the Weavers’ Service Centre to join the art gallery of Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi, as an art curator—a post he retains for fifteen years. Paints late into the night. Receives an award from the All India Fine Arts and Crafts Society, New Delhi. His show at the gallery is inaugurated by President V. V. Giri.

1975

Founds Gallery 24 and Artist’s Forum in New Delhi along with other leading painters. Is part of the third International Triennale, New Delhi.

1975-77

Makes a strong statement against the Emergency with his famous painting, Tiger in the Moonlight, now in the collection of the National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi.

1976

Is part of an exhibition at Cagnes-sur-Mer, France. Shows his works at the Embassy of India, Paris.

1977

Participates in the fourth International Triennale in New Delhi. The same year, he exhibits at the Dhoomimal Art Gallery, and Chanakya Art Gallery, in New Delhi.

1978

Is part of the Sao Paulo Biennale, Brazil.

1979, '80

Receives the graphic arts award at the All India Graphic and Drawing Exhibition, Ahmedabad.

1980

Is included in the travelling group show ‘Seven Indian Painters’ in Worpswed, Hanover, Hamburg, Braunschweig, and Bayreuth, Germany. Is founder and joint editor with Shuvaprasanna of art journal Art Today.

1982

His works are shown at the Museum of Modern Art, Oxford, and the Royal Academy of Arts, London, as part of the Festival of India. Is part of the inaugural exhibition at Roopankar Museum of Fine Arts, Bharat Bhavan, Bhopal.

1984

Is part of the exhibition, ‘Contemporary Indian Painters’ in Tokyo, Japan.

1985

His works are included in the third anniversary exhibition of Roopankar Museum of Fine Arts, Bhopal. His works are part of the exhibition, ‘Artistes lndiens en France’, Festival of India, France.

1986

Chowdhury’s works are exhibited as part of different exhibitions in Turkey, Cuba, Panama, Mexico, Brazil, Germany, Poland, and Iraq.

1987

Joins Kala Bhavana, Santiniketan, as professor of painting.

1988

Is part of an exhibition at the Takaoka Municipal Museum of Art, and the Meguro Museum of Art, Japan.

1993

Is curator of the exhibition, ‘Contemporary Indian Art’, Dhaka, organised by the Indian Council of Cultural Relations, New Delhi. Illustrates a book of poems by Namita Chowdhury, published by Pratikshan Publication.

1994

Has exhibitions of drawings at Seagull Art Foundation, Calcutta, and Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi.

1995

Is a participant in the International Prints Biennale, Bharat Bhavan, Bhopal, where he receives honourable mention.

1996

His exhibition of drawings and paintings at Calcutta's C.I.M.A. gallery travels to the Glenbarra Art Museum, Japan. Is commissioner of the sixth Bharat Bhavan Biennale of Contemporary Indian Art, Bhopal. Mapin Publications’ Image and Imagination has an essay on Jogen Chowdhury by Geeti Sen.

1997

Solo exhibition at the Singapore Art Museum in association with the National Gallery of Modern Art. Is a jury member for the Indian section of the International Triennale, New Delhi. Is convener of a seminar at the Calcutta Metropolitan Festival of Arts. Is part of ‘Tryst with Destiny - Art from Modern India (1947-1997)’, an exhibition at the Singapore Art Museum. Is written about in Major Trends in Indian Art published by the Lalit Kala Akademi. K. Bikram Singh makes a film on him, A Painter’s Portrait, for the national broadcasting service, Doordarshan.

1998

Exhibits in Amsterdam and Paris.

1998-2000

Is a member of the advisory committee of the National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi.

2000

His portfolio of serigraphs made by Archer Gallery, Ahmedabad, is released by Bhupen Khakar.

2001

Is presented the Kalidas Samman by the Government of Madhya Pradesh. His works are part of the group show, 'Prabhav', organised by the Indian Embassy, Berlin.
He is part of the exhibition, 'Art of Bengal – Past & Present' organised by the National Gallery of Modern Art.

2003

Is a jury member for the Singapore Biennale Exhibition of Art.

2004

His works are part of the ‘Margi and the Desi’ exhibition organised by the Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi.

2005

Makes a notable series referencing Abu Ghraib prison and the horrifying abuse of the prisoners by American soldiers in Iraq.

2006

Jogen Chowdhury: Enigmatic Visions is published by Glenbarra Art Museum, Japan.

2008-2009

His work is part of the group show ‘Modern India’, organised by the Institut Valencià d’Art Modern and Casa Asia in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture, Valencia, Spain. Also, is part of two group shows in London.

2011

His works are part of the exhibition, ‘From Miniature to Modern: Traditions in Transition’, organised by Rob Dean Art, London.

2014

Is invited to stay at the Rashtrapati Bhawan as its first artist-in-residence.

2019

Opens a first-of-its-kind museum, the five-storey Charubasona: Jogen Chowdhury Centre for Arts, Kolkata, to house his artworks, dating from his childhood days and tracing his evolution as an artist. A retrospective, ‘Jogen Chowdhury: Reverie and Reality (1955 to 2015)’ opens at Kolkata’s Emami Art Gallery.

2020

Begins work on the sculpture, Elephant Museum, that he casts in Indonesia.