The Open Studio / Sayan Mondal
Sayan Mondal
THE SILENT STRUGGLE OF HARD WORK
Follow the stitches down his body. They end in ants
A man the colour of evening sky falls back on cream cushions.
One arm hangs down until his knuckles almost touch the floor.
A red cloth slides off him like a slow spill.
A row of stitches runs from his shoulder to its hem.
At the end of the thread, ants climb out and walk away.
The warm light stays on the sofa. Nobody comes.
The work
This large oil painting by Sayan Mondal, of the College of Art in New Delhi, dates from 2025. It measures 121.92 × 91.44 cm. A blue man lies across a cream sofa with his head thrown back. A dotted line runs down his body and along his red cloth to the floor. There it becomes a line of ants. Ants return again and again in Mondal's work. They stand for “the quiet, continuous work that often goes unnoticed”.
In the artist’s words
“My work is about hard work and struggle as the path to success. Nothing meaningful comes without persistence, effort and endurance. The ant is a recurring symbol in my work. It stands for discipline, unity and tireless labour. Through ants I reflect human effort: the quiet, continuous work that often goes unnoticed but leads to achievement.”
- Theme
- Unseen labour and endurance
- Material
- Oil
- Size
- 121.92 × 91.44 cm
- Year
- 2025
- Edition
- 1 of 1
- Framed
- Yes
- About the artist
- College of art
- From
- New Delhi
- Code
- RC-3769
