Haren Thakur By Poonam Kishor
Born on 22nd February 1953 at Pathardih, Jharkhand, Thakur first began to pursue his passion for art at a very young age. His early work took inspiration from, and is still reflective of various elements of, nature. He then went on to join the prestigious Kala Bhavan, Vishvabharti at Shantiniketan, West Bengal and finished his Diploma in Fine Arts with a Merit Scholarship in 1975. He was greatly influenced by the art works of Rabindranath Tagore, and completed his education under the tutelage of eminent artists like Ramkinkar Baij, Binode Behari Mukherjee, Somnath Hore, Dinkar Kaushik, Sarbari Roy Choudhury, Gauri Bhanja(D/O Shilpaguru Acharya Nandlal Bose). In 1976, he moved to Ranchi and found himself completely immersed in the study of tribal life and nature. He spent the next four decades nurturing his creative appetite by partaking in the culture and lifestyle of the tribal communities of Jharkhand. His work encompasses different natural elements inspired by the serene surroundings of Jharkhand while depicting faith, harmony, simplicity and peace through colour form and the use of camouflaged tribal icons alongside contemporary blends.
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His work has explored several essential structural patterns of tribal art and fused its geometric sophistication with visual concepts culled from Egyptian wall paintings of the Thutmosis IV era. Thakur’s unique work is expressed mostly through mix-medium on Nepalese Rice Paper.
