Delhi's art lovers do not get such an opportunity every day and they lapped it up: hundreds of fans attended an exhibition of the works of celebrated artist Jatin Das at Lalit Kala Akademi.

 The exhibition, “Artist and Friends.Over Fifty Years” displays almost 500 portraits probably the biggest ever display of portraits that features sketches of people from various fields and also drawings of an artist like Raghu Rai, Gulzar, Bikash Bhattacharya, Nandita Das, Ram Kinker Baij, Paritosh Sen and many others.

“I don’t paint or draw with the intention of selling them. I and my friends never painted towards an exhibition. Over these years the art world has changed immensely. I have seen artist painting for upcoming exhibitions and they paint accordingly. Also, I feel that nowadays it is a  hype and a high society thing and has become altogether a glamorous world now.” says  Das while talking about the transformation of the art market in India.

Das has held around 68 shows in India abroad and has participated in numerous national and international exhibitions. He shares a close relationship with all the people he has featured so far which includes the portraits of his wife before and after marriage also.“I know all the people I have featured very well. If looked carefully these portraits have a sense of intimacy and I have tried to bring out the expressions and their characteristics in these drawings.” says Das while talking about his artwork. “This exhibition is not about sales or money. I should have been given more than a week for the exhibition. One week is too less for an artist!.” he adds.

Talking about his upcoming book that includes all of his artwork, he says “ I am grateful to the Raza Foundation for supporting the publication of my book which includes almost all of my artwork.”

Moreover, Das feels disappointed for the young artist and wants them to look beyond the digital screens. “Nowadays, youngsters are learning through TV, mobiles, and laptops; they have forgotten the real essence of learning. So, I don’t know where art market will go in future. Let’s wait and watch.” he adds.