Arjun Das
Artist Bio:
Born 1994 in Giridih, Jharkhand lives and works in Kolkata, India. Like many others from his village moved to Kolkata with his brothers to work in a restaurant at the age of 10. However, his attraction toward drawing never lost. Das has enrolled to “Rabindra Bharati University” where he did his BFA and MFA Sculpture in 2015 and 2017. He tries to reflect the reality of working-class people through his artworks. Arjun doing his practice with found and recycling materials and enjoying his curving skill with reused wood relief works. Arjun has actively participated in numerous exhibitions including; – “Land of the Leal” Solo Exhibition at Dhi Artspace 2023, “Traces” solo exhibition at Museum Forum Schloss Platz, Switzerland 2019, ‘PERSPECTA 17’ a group show at gallery 88 Kolkata, India 2017, “Persistence of Memory” a group show, at Art Positive gallery, New Delhi 2019, ‘’Metaphor: The Magic It Holds” group show at Dhi Artspace, Hyderabad 2020, An unlocked window of myself, curated by Premjis Achari 2022 etc. Das has received several awards and scholarships including Flacc workplace art residency program in Belgium for 3 months, National Scholarship of Ministry of Culture, India. He went to Arrau, Switzerland for a 6 months Artist Residency Program. Participated YS SOUTH ASIA YOUNG SUBCONTINENT, SERENDIPITY IN GOA in 2018. Attended in National regional camp, Kolkata. Piramal art residency Mumbai in 2019. Attended Emami art residency program in 2021. Hyundai Art for hope grants 2022.
Artist Statement:
My practice draws from the stories of migrant laborers from villages, shaped by my own experience working in a small dhaba. While it began as a necessity to support my studies, it offered insight into the lives of the economically displaced. Migration, often driven by economic need, carries both dreams and instability. My visuals are informed by fleeting landscapes, structural remnants, and shifting terrains—symbols of memory and transition. In merging past and present, I explore how personal and collective histories intertwine, transforming the unsettling into something visually resonant.
Having lived and worked among migrant laborers, I revisit their spaces to explore the everyday through sculpture. I focus on ordinary objects—kitchen tools, washroom items, market goods, and private spaces—recontextualizing them into sculptural forms. These seemingly unrelated elements are brought together in irrational juxtapositions, shifting them from the mundane to the artistic. My practice emphasizes technique and honesty to form, often carving familiar objects in wood with realistic detail, aiming to elevate them into iconic sculptural presences through subtle formal innovation.
I use found wood in my relief work, employing archival carving techniques inspired by Indian cave architecture to evoke the feel of digging into soil. Incorporating common objects, my art critiques the political powers that have long oppressed the working class.
Title: 'Obscure from the Mire'
Medium: Wood
Size:87 x 87 x 87 inches
Year: 2018
Title:Moneycomb
Medium: Wood
Size: Variable Size
Year: 2018
Title: M.M.3 2009
Medium: Re-used Wood
Size:44 x 34 x 3 inches | 111.8 x 86.3 x 7.6 cm
Year: 2022
Title: ‘The Promising Land- lV’
Medium: Re-used and collected concreate block from the site
Size:107 x 29 x 12 cm
Year: 2025
Title: ‘The Promising Land- II’
Medium: Wood
Size: 151 x 52 x 26 cm
Year: 2024 - 2025
Title:'Obscures from the Mire II'
Medium: Re-used Wood
Size:13 x 10 x 2.5 inches
Year: 2018
Title: Obscured Stories
Medium: Collected wood from the site
Size:Variable size
Year: 2022
Title:They are Deceived
Medium: Re-used Wood
Size: 20 x 73 x 3 inches | 50.8 x 185.4 x 7.6 cm
Year: 2020
Title: Sedentary II
Medium: Re-used Wood
Size:8.5 x 38 x 3 inches | 21.6 x 96.5 x 7.6 cm
Year: 2022
