In a sunlit room at the Munroe Center for the Arts, Sudakshina Bhattacharya greeted guests in a teddy bear-patterned sweater, striking a light-hearted mood. Behind her hung canvases featuring nature scenes, landscapes and an expansive view of the Boston Public Garden.
Bhattacharya, a former scientist at a nuclear plant in India, was one of 60 artists who presented their work April 11-12 during the 16th Lexington Open Studios, a free public showcase organized by local artists and leaders from other art centers in town.
She was one of three women at the event who arrived at art by way of careers in science.
Bhattacharya grew up in Kalyani, India, near Kolkata, where she trained from a young age with a local art teacher she called a “guru.”
“He used to be a very famous, well-known artist in our area in Kalyani,” she said. “So, he used to handpick his student[s].”
Although Bhattacharya enjoyed painting, she instead earned a master’s in computer science and went to work as a research scientist at a nuclear plant.
Then, she made a life-altering decision. “I married a person I love who doesn’t belong to the same caste system and the same culture,” she said. “For me, I’m blessed to have the husband I have right now.”
Her parents disapproved of the match, and her husband had taken a job in Connecticut, so Bhattacharya quit her job and moved to the United States. The couple settled in Massachusetts in 2014.
In April 2015, Bhattacharya met Jean Hart, an influential figure in the Lexington arts scene.
“Jean convinced [me] that, you know what, you should take art as a profession,” Bhattacharya said. “So, I thought, okay, [a] scientist job I have already done. So why not give a try to being an artist?”
She joined the LexArt gallery in 2016. Over the next two years, she assisted Cathy Keller, then-chairwoman of the organization.
Bhattacharya, who now lives in Westford, paints on canvas using acrylic paint and other mediums.
Down a hallway framed by artwork and flanked by tables with craft pieces such as jewelry, pottery and glasswork, Cristina Burwell, executive director of the Munroe Center of the Arts, sat in her office.
Similar to Bhattacharya, Burwell knows both the arts and sciences.
“My graduate degree is in biomechanics,” she said, “but my undergraduate degree is in fine arts.”
Upstairs, photographer Zoe Perry-Wood welcomed visitors to a studio lined with framed portraits and candid shots. One print stood out – a hand-drawn American flag positioned upside down, with the word “RESIST” spelled out beneath it.
Perry-Wood, who lives in Lexington and grew up in southeastern Massachusetts, is a fine arts photographer who focuses on social documentaries and portraits. She has been involved with Lexington Open Studios since its beginning 16 years ago and serves on the event’s organizing committee.
She said the event aims to give the public an opportunity to see artists’ studios and to witness the process of making art while building connections between artists and community.
She said she developed her passion for photography during family vacations.
“My father would take photographs, and the most exciting thing was when his slides came back from being processed,” said Perry-Wood. “And the family would sit down and watch the slides. It was so much fun. I just took my father’s Minolta … and I just started taking photographs.”
Similar to others, Perry-Wood first took jobs unrelated to photography before returning to her passion.
Perry-Wood earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design, a Master of Education from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and a certificate of advanced graduate studies from the University of Massachusetts, Boston. Prior to dedicating herself to photography full time, Perry-Wood said for a number of years she worked as a printer for other photographers and a school psychologist.
By late afternoon, sunlight streamed through large, rectangular studio windows, bathing the artwork and visitors in a warm glow. Although Bhattacharya doesn’t live in Lexington anymore, she said the town holds a special place in her heart as the place where her love for painting and the arts was rekindled.
“Even if I don’t live in Lexington, my soul is connected to Lexington because I started my art journey from there,” Bhattacharya said. “And all the artists who are from Lexington, they know me. I know them. So, you know, my soul lives there.”
This story was written by a journalism student in BU’s Newsroom program, a partnership between the university, The Lexington Observer and other news organizations in the Boston area.
Lexington Open Studios sign in front of Munroe Center. (Photo by Deanthony Nachampasak.)