group exhibition
Bengal Art Lounge 9 - 30 March 2014
Monirul Islam Rafiqun Nabi Kalidas Karmakar Rokeya Sultana Bishwajit Goswami Yasmin Jahan Nupur Ashim Halder Sagor Khaled Mahmud Jon Den Hartigh
group exhibition
Monirul Islam Rafiqun Nabi Kalidas Karmakar Rokeya Sultana Bishwajit Goswami Yasmin Jahan Nupur Ashim Halder Sagor Khaled Mahmud Jon Den Hartigh
Published by Bengal Art Lounge House 60, Road 131 Gulshan 1, Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh Contact +880 1191002663 art.lounge@bengalfoundation.org www.bengalfoundation.org/artlounge Cover Bishwajit Goswami. Mother 3 Design Emon - Bengal Foundation Printing Graphosman Reproduction and Printing Dhaka, Bangladesh
I Cannot Remember My Mother : RABINDRANATH TAGORE
I cannot remember my mother only sometimes in the midst of my play a tune seems to hover over my playthings, the tune of some song that she used to hum while rocking my cradle. I cannot remember my mother but when in the early autumn morning the smell of the shiuli flowers floats in the air the scent of the morning service in the temple comes to me as the scent of my mother. I cannot remember my mother only when from my bedroom window I send my eyes into the blue of the distant sky, I feel that the stillness of my mother's gaze on my face has spread all over the sky.
Two Mothers . Mixed media on canvas . 92 x 107 cm . 2014
Mother and Son Mixed media on paper 46 x 33 cm . 2014
Monirul Islam grew up on the bank of the River Meghna in Chandpur. He moved to Dhaka to study at the Fine Arts Academy and in 1969 left for Spain on a Spanish government scholarship. He did not return to the newly independent Bangladesh for over a decade, working hard to establish himself as an artist in Madrid. The influence of such important figures as Dali, Picasso and Tapies can be seen in his earlier work, which is deeply symbolic and at times, cryptic. Monirul Islam's career spans more than 4 decades. He began his creative journey as a watercolourist, he mastered the medium painting from life, learning to control and manipulate the swift nature of watercolours. He slowly shifted to printmaking and established himself as a master of graphics, before recently moving on to painting. In 1993 he was awarded the Accesit National Award of Spain from the Calcografia Nacionale, it was the first time ever the award was given to a non-Spanish. Monirul also received the prestigious Cross of Officer of the Order of Queen Isabella for his contribution to the arts. His creative direction changed over time, from figurative to more abstracts as he moved from printmaking to painting, and his subject became more and more abstract. Monirul Islam approaches a canvas or piece of paper like a landscape, laying down layers and layers of colours and forms, creating space and dimensions. He often mixes printmaking techniques and painting and his use of non traditional materials such as corrugated board, coffee, earth and sand speaks of the artist's deep belief that art is all encompassing and pervasive.
Monirul Islam 1943
Family . Acrylic on canvas . 92 X 92 cm . 2006 . Collection: Anis Muquit
1943
RafiqunNabi
Mother and Child . Charcoal and acrylic on paper . 72 x 54 cm . 2014
In more than fifty years of his artistic journey, Rafiqun Nabi has espoused various styles and techniques. He has matured as an artist through these experiments. His early works, done as a student in the sixties, comprise of watercolour landscapes. During the same period, the artist's political involvement grew and he began to express his ideas through his art. In 1973, after completing his degree at Charukola, Rafiqun Nabi moved to Greece on a scholarship to study wood engraving techniques. The woodprints exhibited in this exhibition are from that period in the artist's life and stand out from his later work. Upon his return from Greece, Rafiqun Nabi created a cartoon character called Tokai. This little street urchin as well as Rafiqun Nabi, also known as Ranabi, became loved by millions of people across Bangladesh. Much later in his career Rafiqun Nabi shifted to painting large canvases depicting scenes from the lives of the common men and women of the city. His Family series is the height of this new development.
Alluvial Diary of a Mother - 7 . Acrylic and mixed media on canvas . 120 x 120 cm . 2012
Kalidas Karmakar, born 1946, Faridpur, Bangladesh, attained his undergraduate education in the arts at the Institute of Fine Arts, Dhaka University in 1964 and graduated from the department of Fine Arts from Government College of Art and Craft, Kolkata, India in 1969. Kalidas got the Scholarship in Graphic Arts at the Warsaw University of Fine Arts, Poland and French Govt. Superior Scholarship at Atelier -17 in Paris. He was also awarded the Japan Foundation Fellowship at Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, along with the Government of India ICCR Scholarship at Lalit Kala Academy, and the Kolkata and Asian Cultural Council Fellowship - Artist in Residence Program in New York in 2006.
1946
Kalidas Karmakar
Alluvial Diary of a Mother - 6 . Acrylic and mixed media on canvas . 120 x 120 cm . 2014
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Kalidas Karmakar has been working as a professional artist for nearly four decades. He has distinguished himself as an innovative experimental artist in terms of medium and material, and is a pioneer in Bangladesh of nontraditional art forms such as Performance and Installations Art. His first solo exhibition was held at the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy in 1976. Kalidas has developed new techniques in colour etching and is also known for his metal collages and experiments with soil in his work. The artist is inspired and fascinated by the alluvial nature of Bengal and has produced several series of artworks dedicated to this subject. Stylistically, Kalidas fits in somewhere in between abstract experimentalism and symbolism; his symbols originating from different religious and spiritual practices. Musical notes and natural objects, such as shells, stones, sand and soil can often be found in his work.
Mother and Child . Tempera on canvas . 86 x 86 cm . 2014 Mother in the City . Tempera on canvas . 182 x 122 cm . 2014
Rokeya Sultana is one of the first female artists of Bangladesh to receive public recognition and since the beginning of her career in the 80's has been awarded several of the most honorable prizes in Fine Arts including the Bengal Foundation Award and Bangladesh Shilpakala Award amongst others. She has exhibited her work in France, Poland, Nepal, Korea, Denmark, Pakistan, India, USA, Australia, Egypt and Japan. Sultana has been an innovative and courageous artist, developing a unique visual language and innovative printmaking techniques. Rokeya is one of the few Bangladeshi artists to have benefited from a scholarship in Fine Arts from Viswa-Bharati University in Shantiniketan. In 2011 Rokeya was awarded the Fulbright Research Award and was a resident at the University of Nebraska where she developed a technique of pressure printing. The body of work from this period was exhibited at the Bengal Art Lounge in 2013 in a solo exhibition titled Fata Morgana. Rokeya Sultana presently holds the position of Chairperson of the Department of Printmaking at the Faculty of Fine Arts at the Dhaka University. Printmaker Karen Kunc, who supervised Rokeya's Fulbright research, wrote about her work, 'Rokeya's art is a reflection of loss and displacement, and the impermanence of life. She addresses issues of womanhood and the power of intuition and imagination that can be a feminine attribute that moves into universal truths. Through a symbolic personal language she expresses such metaphysical perceptions as women in communication with nature.' One of Sultana's most popular bodies of work is the Madonna series in which she depicted the everyday woman struggling against the city. She is often accompanied by a child, whose safety and wellbeing is the responsibility and concern of this everywoman Madonna. Writing about her work, Rokeya states, 'I will always be an intuitive thinker, searching for the human spirit through my work'.
Rokeya Sultana 1958
Mother - 1 . Pressed cotton sari, painting, screen print, neon on wood . 120 x 150 cm . 2014 Mother - 3 . Charcoal, pencil, marker on paper . Wooden table with screen print top . 122 x 76 cm . Table 48 x 76 x 60 cm . 2014
Bishwajit Goswami 1981 Born in Netrakona, Bishwajit received his Bachelors of Fine Arts from Dhaka University and went on to study painting and graphics at ViswaBharati University in Shanitniketan. Bishwajit has participated in many group exhibitions in Bangladesh, India, Japan and USA. Known for his unique, hyperrealist style, Bishwajit's visual language is in constant flux as he works to create new approaches and themes. Goswami has received multiple awards including the Young Artist Fine Art Award from the Bangaldesh Shilpakala Academy, Bengal Foundation Award, Best Award in Painting. The young artist is recognized for his skill and painting and breaking new grounds in terms of figurative art.
Voice of Space - 6 Pencil and goldleaf on paper 25 x 20 cm . 2014
Voice of Space - 3 Pencil and watercolour on paper 78 x 55 cm . 2014
As a member of the Britto Arts Trust, Yasmin Jahan Nupur has participated in numerous workshops and art camps on performance and digital art, and these are strong directions in the overall body of her work. Nupur is also a sensitive and gifted draftsman, her minimal drawings and mixed media works have received wide acclaim. As one of the exhibiting artists at the Bangladesh Pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 2013, Nupur presented an embroidered map, which put in question the idea of national borders.
Yasmin Jahan Nupur 1979
In her statement, Nupur writes, 'I am inspired by the urgent ecological and community/public aspects and inclined to incorporate these elements in my work. I also like to depict human relationships from various points of view. Therefore, I work closely with people from the community who are deprived from social benefits. I believe in equal rights for all people regardless of gender, race, colour, creed or political belief, and in the individual's inalienable right to participate by means of free and democratic processes in framing the society in which he or she lives'.
Ashim Halder Sagor
1983
Chronicles of Stunned Mother . Raku ceramics . 107 x 77 cm . 2014 Genetic Contemplation - 2 . Raku ceramics . 56 x 17 x 14 cm . 2014
Ashim Halder Sagor is a ceramic artist and sculptor. In 2006 he completed his B.FA (Hon's) and M.FA 2008 in Ceramics from the Faculty of Fine Art, University of Dhaka. He has participated in numerous workshops and exhibitions in Bangladesh, Slovenia, Nepal, Canada, UK, and USA. Ashim's participation in recent exhibitions include 14th Asian Art Biennale Bangladesh 2010 and 19th National art Exhibition 2011 organized by Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy, Raku Workshop Outcome Exhibition, 2008 & 2010, Mechanical Fantasy: Print Workshop-2009, Video Art Workshop's open Studio, 2008/9. He has taken part in Britto Students' Residency 2009 at Rajshahi University & CRAC International Art Camp 2010. In his statement, Ashim writes, 'My practice began as a traditional ceramic artist. In 2008, while attending Raku workshops in Dhaka and Chittagong, I was exposed to this Japanese art form. Raku, meaning delight or joyful, is a traditional Japanese art form which has roots in ceramics. Since learning this new technique and visual language, I have created and moulded unique, mechanical and self-modeled raku & ceramic sculptures. Usually, I depict self-portraits or body fragments. I feel that I'm questioning myself, working under the motto 'know thyself'. Sometimes this concept dictates and develops the work to take another direction. I also experiment with media such as installations, performance and video. In my artistic quest, I'd like to express life and time - life that is contemporary and time that is fleeting.
Kushida Delwar Nodboi . (Kushida Delwar’s Notebook) . Installation . 2014
A Bangladeshi born artist, Khaled Mahmud, is currently working as the Creative Director of Headoffice Communication in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Khaled completed his B.FA in 2000 and M.FA in 2005 in Print Making from the Institute of Fine Arts, University of Dhaka. Khaled had his 1st Solo Exhibition, 'MAYA', at La Gallery, Alliance Francaise de Dacca, Bangladesh in 2003 and Solo Exhibition at Chuwa Gallery, Tokyo, Japan in 2004. He participated in 16 major group exhibitions in Bangladesh, in “Art for Artist,� a group exhibition held at St. Gallen, Neuhausen, Switzerland, and in another group exhibition held in New York and in Washington DC. Most recently, he has participated in 'Only God Can Judge Me' and in 'Longitude Latitude 5', group exhibitions held in Dhaka, Bangladesh. He is also a Guest Lecturer of 'Aesthetics' at North South University, Dhaka. Khaled Mahmud is a devoted artist of this era, promising and talented. As a Creative Director of Headoffice Communication, artist Khaled's expertise encompasses a number of disciplines; viz. printmaking, graphic design, drawing, art direction and planning, communications tools design, interior/exterior design, event decoration, photography and photographics.
Khaled Mahmud 1976
Jon Den Hartigh is an American artist residing in Dhaka. The work presented in this exhibition, a stylized reproduction of Filippo Lippi's Madonna and Child, is part of a collaborative project with rickshaw artist Vikram. Jon is producing an Encyclopedia of Western Art in the style of Rickshaw art.
1976
Jon Den Hartigh
Filippo Lippi . Madonna and Child . 15th century Madonna and Child . Poster paint on canvas . Original by Filippo Lippi . Reproduced by Vikram . 90 x 62 cm . 2014
The artist writes, 'I am drawn to focus upon and use, like many other people, things from any place other than from where I come. This romantic consumption of the “other,” alongside an obsession with the omnipresent artifacts and ubiquitous characteristics that identify a place as unique, has inspired this collection of work. Why is it that we collect items and trinkets from the places we visit? Pulled together by these ideas and drawing from a plethora of inspirational sources, this collection uses color and multiples as a meditation on the mundane facets of Dhaka, and by extension, any place that is “other”, that seems exotic, novel and new.
group exhibition
Monirul Islam Rafiqun Nabi Kalidas Karmakar Rokeya Sultana Bishwajit Goswami Yasmin Jahan Nupur Ashim Halder Sagor Khaled Mahmud Jon Den Hartigh
group exhibition
Monirul Islam Rafiqun Nabi Kalidas Karmakar Rokeya Sultana Bishwajit Goswami Yasmin Jahan Nupur Ashim Halder Sagor Khaled Mahmud Jon Den Hartigh