Jagannath Paul

(b. 1976, West Bengal) is a contemporary painter whose work centres upon the human figure, particularly the expressive possibilities of the face.His semi-abstract compositions frequently bring male and female figures into close proximity, creating an atmosphere of intimacy, tension and psychological ambiguity. Charcoal provides much of the structural intensity of his paintings, while selective passages of acrylic introduce flashes of colour into otherwise restrained compositions. Reds, oranges and yellows punctuate the monochromatic surfaces, drawing attention to particular gestures and lending emotional weight to the encounter between figures.

Born in rural West Bengal, Paul developed an early fascination with people and their expressions through close observation of everyday life. He graduated first in class from the Government College of Art and Crafts, Kolkata, in 2000, His practice has since expanded towards greater abstraction while retaining its fundamental interest in human emotion. In India and abroad, Paul’s paintings bring together expressive drawing, geometric structure and psychologicalintensity, creating images in which the human face becomes both subject and metaphor.