Rafique Sulayman, BANGLADESH

A REVIEW PUBLISHED IN THE NEW NATION

Dali & Others : Art exhibition to commemorate Int’l Mother Language Day

Sheikh Arif Bulbon

“This exhibition includes an original print from Salvador Dali (1904-1989), the great Spanish artist. Another important entry in the exhibition is an original lithography by the French modern master Andre Derain (1880-1954).. Both these works are from the personal collection of Ambassador Waliur Rahman, Chairman of Bangladesh Heritage Foundation. The Dali piece is from the artist's surrealist series on the 'Persistence of Memory' in which 'Limp watches melt in an eerie landscape.' Derain was one of the co-founder of Fauvism, however, his work in the present exhibition is a remarkably charming female nude. The exhibition also brings together works of distinguished artists of the South Asia, Europe, North and Central America and of course Bangladesh," noted educationist, urban planner and Chairman of the University Grants Commission (UGC) Prof Nazrul Islam said this at the inauguration of the two-week long international fine art exhibition titled 'Dali & Others' at the BILIA Auditorium at Dhanmondi in the city. The exhibition ended on March 7.

To commemorate the International Mother Language Day on February 21, Bangladesh Heritage Foundation (BHF) and Bangladesh Research and Publications Ltd jointly organised the exhibition. Eminent educationist and former advisor of the first Caretaker Government Prof Zillur Rahman Siddiqui was present as chief guest at the inauguration of the show. Ambassador of Italy Itala Occhi, Prof Nazrul Islam, Prof Vice Chancellor of Dhaka University Prof Harun-ur-Rashid, Director and Country Representative of the UNESCO Malama Meleisea, Secretary General of Nepal Art Council Nath Rimal, Ambassador Waliur Rahman, Vice Chairman of BHF Prof Shahruk Rahman, curator of the exhibition Rafique Sulayman, among others, were present on the occasion.. Including Bangladesh artworks by the artists of 13 countries were on display in the show.

Artworks of the participating artists were - Shashi Bikram Shah, Uttam Nepali, Shankar Nath Rimal, Gehendra Man Amatya, Kiran Manadhar, Padmanand Neupane, Shyam Lal Shrestha, Gajendra Man Shrestha, Uma Shankar Shah and Ratna Kazi Shakya from Nepal, Sumita Chauhan from India, Suzlee Ibrahim, M Safwan Ahmed and Asliza Aris from Malaysia, Hakim Jamain from Jordan, Georgia Grigoriadou, Dimitrios Apostolis and Sarantis Gagas from Greece, Jorge Ivan Restrepo from Honduras, Nel Ivancich, Christine Tarantino and Obaidullah Mamoon from USA, Martha Aitchison from UK, Ernst Seidl, Dorothea Fleiss, Eva Bako-Brittner, Rudiger Westphal and Erich Paproth from Germany, Andre Derain from France, Annamaria Geimi from Italy, Salvador Dali from Spain and Quamrul Hasan, SM Sultan, Samarjit Roy Choudhury, Monirul Islam, Shahabuddin, Nasim Ahmed Nadvi, Naima Huq, Arham Ul Haque Chowdhury, Jamal Ahmed, Dewan Mizan, Sarbari Roy Choudhury, Anisuzzaman Anis and Habiba Akhter Papia from Bangladesh.

Including artworks of the Bangladeshi artists, Quamrul Hassan is renowned for portraying Bengali women in their range of moods and tempers. SM Sultan was recognised for depicting the rural beauty, villagers, peasants - their struggles and their way of life. The human forms are robust and powerful and represent the hardworking people of our countryside. This prominent artist worked with oil colours, which he felt provided him with artistic freedom.

Monirul Islam has been living and working in Madrid since 1969. He is simultaneously a printmaker, painter and water-colourist. His prints invariably have a serene look. His lines are always dominant in his works and invite the viewer to a physiological journey.

Samarjit Roy Chowdhury is another well-known Bangladeshi artist, who has been active from the mid 1950s. He is exceedingly fond of researching on folk motifs and trying out new forms and techniques. Various motifs like birds, plants, kites and romantic scene are common in his works. Patriotism and love for nature are two recurring themes in his works. Shahabuddin lives and works in Paris. A figurative painter, his canvases explore the inner power of humans and he charges them with his bold brush strokes and vibrant colour. Liberation War, human pain, suffering and their struggle always reappear in his large sized canvas.

Habiba Akhter Papia, only sculptor in the exhibition, is a promising and talented sculptor in our country. Her works including bronze sculpture and small bronze of a brick crushing female worker was illustrative of the harsh life of poor urban woman, which also attracted the visitors in the gallery.

As a whole, the exhibition was a successful arrangement by the organisers where artworks of not only our country's renowned artists were presented but also internationally reputed artists' works were on display in the show. As a result, new generation of art lovers could get the taste of the following artists. "