Painter and printmaker, Professor Sanat Kar (born 1935) was the head of the Department of Graphics, Kala Bhavan. When he retired in 1995, he was the principal of Kala Bhavan, Shantiniketan.

Graduated from the Govt. College of Art and Crafts, in 1959, he is the founder member and also the secretary from 1960-74, of the Artists’ Circle, Kolkata, Society of Contemporary Artists.

Sanat Kar’s paintings are an eloquent testimony to his talent and artistic powers. He has contributed innovative techniques to graphic printing in India. These include the process of wood intaglio, cardboard intaglio, and engraving on laminates and other synthetic surfaces.

Over the years, Kar’s strange surrealistic figures, some with geometric and reductionist tendencies, have a curious dream-like appearance. All his paintings seemingly hover on the edge of reality, without ever reaching there.

Kar uses the medium of tempora most often. The texture of the material he works with adds to the aura, and his meticulous penmanship lends credence to the whole.