Gaganendranath Tagore's Colour International Scientific Series is a small but rather curious work, for it appears to make the simple act of studying colour into a visual experiment. The painting is watercolour on card and is accompanied by handwritten notes on the reverse in which Gaganendranath records combinations of colours that work well together and others that he considers less successful. The work feels almost like a personal exercise book, where the artist tests how different colours behave next to each other. He makes colour the object, not the medium, for describing an object or a landscape. And that small size makes this even more interesting because it feels intimate and practical, like it was something he kept close to him while he was thinking through his ideas. He’s interested in how the way he puts contrasting colours together changes how one colour looks against another. This kind of experimentation also fits Gaganendranath’s broader interest in exploring new ways of making art. He alternated between wash painting, caricature and later geometric compositions, never really attached to a single fixed style. What I find most interesting about this is that the painting allows us to see the artist thinking and not just give us a finished image. The handwritten notes make it personal, like looking over his shoulder as he works. It reminds us that behind the more familiar paintings was an artist constantly testing, observing and working out what colour could do.
I see Colour International Scientific Series as a look into Gaganendranath Tagore’s way of thinking about colour instead of just using colour to show a subject. The small size and the notes that go with colour pairings make the work seem almost like a visual lab or a personal study. For me the value of this work is in that feeling of trying things out: Tagore sees colour as something, on its own. Looks at how different shades connect. The work also shows his desire to go past one kind of art style and try new modern ideas. Than showing a complete picture or a story it makes me feel like I'm watching an artist try different options see how things relate and create his own way of showing things.
