Chandra Bhattacharjee was born in 1961 at Patuli (Bardhaman), West Bengal. He studied at the Indian College of Art and Draftsmanship, Kolkata and received a gold medal from Rabindra Bharati University in 1986 for excellence in fine arts. Bhattacharjee started his career as a billboard artist, working as a graphic designer with Economic Times. He first exhibited his work in a group show at the Academy of Fine Arts, in 1992.

Bhattacharjee’s compositions are austere, rustic, and intense, influenced by rural and tribal themes, owing to his associations with tribal communities like the ‘Santhal’ tribe of Bengal. With time the tribals and Santhals have transfigured into imaginary figures that have several definite traits, “he/she is strong, no-nonsense and resilientand refuses to be defeated by circumstances and can look ahead and beyond the present milieu or dilemma. Their mental strength is reflected in their physical stature and once again to depict that I have borrowed heavily from the muscular, dark-complexioned, lean, rugged, big-boned looks of the tribals, who are my civilised savages.” Influenced by complex human relationships, his figures, ‘Everyman and Everywoman”, as he calls them, reflect their individuality, attitude, and feelings, which is not “limited to a particular space or race.” The stories that he paints with men, women, and animals co-exist beautifully on his canvas giving the viewer achance to weave their own intricate stories.

“The rugged earth, the falling leaves and flowers are symbols of a temporal world amid which my figures and their far-reaching yearnings are constants.” Chandra Bhattacharjee

Bhattacharjee uses the crosshatching that adds depth to his colour. As he explains in an interview with Saffron Art, ” I use conte charcoal to make the basic line drawing and then I cover the canvas with a layer of dry pastel and water. After that, I apply several layers of extremely diluted acrylic paint. The dry pastel absorbs the superficial gloss of the acrylic and the effect is matte and well-knit. “Chandra Bhattacharjee lives and works in Kolkata.