Asit Kumar Patnaik is a leading contemporary artist from India, with over 100 group shows, 25 solo shows and 10 auctions in Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and America behind him. His work graces the collection of the President of India and of several private connoisseurs in the USA, UK, South Korea, UAE, Australia, Japan, Bangladesh, Netherlands, Germany, and Switzerland. He has a bachelor’s degree in fine art from the Government College of Art and Crafts, Khallikote, Odisha, India, and a master’s from BHU, Varanasi, India, where he was a batch topper. His work has been featured at major global exhibitions such as Art Expo, New York (2016 and 2024), World Art Dubai (2017-2019), Bienal Izmir, Turkey (2019), Inter Art Gallery, Aiud, Romania (2018 and 2022), AAF London (2020), 10th harmony show, Global art fair Dubai (2015 and 2016), KKB International Art Festival, Malaysia (2016), Spectrum Miami (2016), and The Florence Biennale (2011).
Asit is known primarily for his oil and acrylic paintings with abstracted textures and semi-realistic figures that question interpersonal relationships with an interplay between the subtle, intense, and detached feelings rendered through body language, skin textures, and the colours of the clothes. Technically, a semi-figurative realist, he portrays figures amidst a textured, ever-morphing abstract backgrounds. His lines and strokes convey an impression of an immanent quest and defy closures, invariably persuading the viewers to engage in an immediate dialogue. The same spirit characterizes his choice of subjects, typically a male and a female figure. He communicates to the viewers his experiences and observations on various aspects of human relationships through subtle variations in their postures and perspectives. His man and woman are not merely the proverbial yin and yang; they are also the memories and potentials, selves lost and reclaimed. The layered appeal of his works opens them up to multiple readings and through such viewer involvement the real meets and negotiates with the surreal.
Asit K Patnaik lives and works in New Delhi, India.
