Devajyoti Ray born in 1974 is today one of the youngest masters of Indian Art. In fact he has often been heralded as the most promising artist of the new generation and in days to come he is likely to emerge as the best of his time.

        Like Sunil Das and BR Panesar, Ray too had joined initially as a government officer and then by force of his talent entered the art world independently. Like BR Panesar, Ray’s works are independent of the influence of the regular art school styles. And in fact so independent is his style that critics have called his art a new genre.

        The word Pseudorealism  which is often attached to Ray’s works is in fact a term that was associated with films but Ray had drafted it according to his own needs to create a new style of visual imagery where he uses offbeat colours and shapes to create a pseudo-balance. It is thus a style that is rooted in the new Indian reality and in a way marks a new phase in Art of post-liberalization India.

Ray's paintings showing scenes of daily life painted in a style that uses abstraction to approach realism

Medium and Techniques of Work

         Ray paints predominantly in acrylic. Since Ray had no formal training in art, his techniques are largely self-developed and this adds to his uniqueness. Ray uses large areas of flat colours, offbeat shapes and yet at the end the paintings look realistic and comprehendible. Ray has also worked in water colours and mixed media and has produced many new forms of experimental art. His collages , which had a special feature of looking like scraps of haphazard papers but forming clear realistic scenes when seen from a distance was also a novelty of the young artist.

        Yet Ray is predominantly known as an acrylic and oil artist.

Major Themes

        Ray paints scenes of everyday life with a touch of subtle irony. His paintings do not make any statement and in fact Ray scoffs at artists who makes statements. Ray’s works are for viewers to see and enjoy and then ponder over the hidden irony.