Profile:

Mithun Dasgupta is a contemporary Indian painter whose practice engages critically with questions of meaning, temporality, and perception in the context of post-truth society. Born in 1980, he completed his Master of Visual Arts (M.V.A.) from Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata, where his academic training provided a strong conceptual and theoretical foundation for his evolving visual language.

Dasgupta’s paintings function as visual propositions rather than fixed narratives. His work explores the metamorphosis of meaning over time, examining how images, symbols, and ideas shift as they pass through layers of memory, ideology, and cultural mediation. Rooted in philosophical inquiry, his practice addresses the synthetic and constructed nature of meaning-making in contemporary society, where truth is often fragmented, contested, and reassembled through social, political, and media-driven forces.

Formally, his paintings balance conceptual rigor with painterly sensitivity. Rather than offering definitive statements, they invite contemplation, encouraging viewers to negotiate ambiguity and contradiction. This open-endedness situates his work within a broader discourse on contemporary abstraction and conceptual painting in India.

Dasgupta has participated in numerous curated and group exhibitions in India and internationally. Notable presentations include the Birla Academy Kala Mela (2007), Concern for Art Fair (2005), Social & Political Injustice at Aakriti Art Gallery, Kolkata (2011), and Tagore: Lost & Found at Art Bull, New Delhi (2013). He also participated in a significant group exhibition at Christie’s, London, in 2010, marking an important international exposure.

His practice has received notable international recognition through the Pollock–Krasner Foundation Grant (New York), awarded twice—in 2016 and 2021—underscoring the critical relevance and sustained strength of his artistic inquiry.

Mithun Dasgupta lives and works in Kolkata, West Bengal, and continues to develop a practice that reflects on the instability of meaning and the evolving conditions of contemporary visual culture.