Abir Karmakar

Born 1977 in Siliguri, India After graduating with a Master of Fine Arts degree from Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda in 2003, Karmakar began participating in a number of group shows throughout India.

He landed his first solo exhibition in 2005 with his from my photo album series, where he created a photo-realistic atmosphere full of titillating, androgynous self-portraits.

He has been a part of several group shows all over the world following his solo show. His informal, yet highly-detailed and voyeuristic self-portraits, in which he places his naked body in intimate settings, are a recurring theme in his work. Karmakar questions the notions and formalities of gender, sexuality, intimacy and the complex relationships a person can have, not just with others, but with oneself. Lives and works in Baroda, India.

Education 2003 M.A (Fine Art, Painting), Faculty of Fine Arts, M.S. University, Baroda 2001 B.F.A. (Painting), Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata

Select Solo Exhibitions

2012 Room, Interrupted in Passage, Galerie Mirchandani + Steinruecke, Mumbai

2011 The Morning After, Aicon Gallery, New York

2008 Within the Walls, Gallery Espace, New Delhi and Galerie Mirchandani + Steinruecke, Mumbai 2007 In the Old Fashioned Way, Aicon Gallery, London Whispering Palette, Red Earth Art Gallery, Baroda 2006 Interiors, Galerie Heike Curtze, Berlin Catalogue essay by Kamala Kapoor

2005 from my photo album, The Museum Gallery, Mumbai

Select Group Exhibitions

2011 Window in the Wall: India and China – Imaginary Conversations, curated by Gayatri Sinha and Gao Minglu, Pearl Lam Fine Art, Shanghai, China Dolls, Sumukha Gallery, Bangalore and Chennai (in association with Art Chennai 2011), and Rob Dean Art, London Of Gods and Goddesses, Cinema, Cricket The New Cultural Icons of India, curated by Arshiya Lokhandwala for RPG Academy of Art & Music, Mumbai Pills, curated by Avni Doshi, Latitude 28, Delhi 5th Anniversary Exhibition, Galerie Mirchandani + Steinruecke, Mumbai India Art Summit, New Delhi

2010 Changing Skin, The Fine Art Company at Coomaraswamy Hall, Prince of Wales Museum, Mumbai Trial and Error, Abir Karmakar, Debraj Goswami and Rahul Mukherjee, Faculty of Fine Arts, M.S. University, Baroda INDIA AWAKEN: Under the Banyan Tree, Essl Museum, Vienna Curated by Dr. Alka Pande from the permanent collection of the museum Have I Ever Opposed You? New Art from India and Pakistan, Gallery Faye Fleming and Partner, Geneva

2009 Failed Plot- curated by Gayatri Sinha for KIAF A New Vanguard: Trends in Contemporary Indian Art, Saffron Art and The Guild Art Gallery New Fables: Contemporary Voices, Gandhara Art Gallery, Kolkata Long Gone & Living Now, Gallerie Mirchandani + Steinreucke, Mumbai Threshold: Forging Narratives in South Asian Contemporary Art, Aicon Gallery, New York

Shifting Shapes – Unstable Signs , Yale University School of Art, New Haven, Connecticut, USA PANORAMA: INDIA at ARCO_Madrid Presented by Galerie Mirchandani + Steinruecke, Mumbai Mutant Beauty, Anant Art Gallery, New Delhi Curated by Gayatri Sinha

2008 Gallery weekend at the Baumwollspinnerei Factory Complex, Leipzig, Germany, presented by Galerie Mirchandani + Steinruecke A MAZ ING, Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai Curated by Anupa Mehta for RPG Academy of Art and Culture

2007 1st Anniversary Exhibition, Galerie Mirchandani + Steinruecke, Mumbai The Harmony Show, Mumbai Reality Bites, CIMA, Kolkata Beyond Credos, Birla Academy of Art & Culture, Kolkata

2006 Annual Exhibition of Birla Academy of Art & Culture, Kolkata Two x Two, Sarjan ArtGallery, Baroda Red Earth And The Pouring Rain, Lanxess ABS Gallery, Baroda Feb Group Show, Baroda

2005 De Tour, Galerie 88, Mumbai The Harmony Show, Mumbai

2004 Fusion, Bayer ABS Gallery, Baroda

2003 Read, Birla Academy of Arts and Culture, Kolkata

1995 Annual Exhibition of Academy of Fine Arts, Kolkata

Awards

2007 The Harmony Award

2003 Awarded Gold Medal, M.A. (Fine Art, Painting), Faculty of Fine Arts, M.S. University, Baroda