A veteran artist’s experiments with drawing
Drawings are a reflection of personal observations of an artist. It is the fundamental foundation of art. Drawings articulate an artist’s expressions and represent his/her personality. Veteran artist Rafiqun Nabi’s drawings are an effectual mirror of the Bangladeshi rural life and contemporary times. The simplified lines of his drawings have become his hallmark and the artist seemingly invests much time on them, as he does with his paintings.
Gallery Chitrak is hosting Nabi’s current solo drawing exhibition, featuring figurative works that meticulously portray rural folk, bauls, kingfishers, contemplative women, people at leisure, herds of cows and buffaloes, broken bridges, boats, wild flowers and more.
Nabi is an artist who adheres to experimental realism. Mingling romanticism and impressionism, at times, the artist also portrays urban milieu where architectural lines and thorough use of space are highlights. His drawings seemingly document his observations on nature and his childhood. The artist uses acrylic, dry pastel, charcoal, mixed mediums etc.
At the exhibition, a number of acrylic drawings where blue, yellow, yellowish-brown, crimson, black and green have been primarily used, are on display. Nabi’s continuous changes in his compositions make his works interesting and impressionistic. The artist also arranges motifs in different combinations according to light and shade.
Nabi started drawing in his childhood. In the early 1950s, his father took him to a painting exhibition, held at the then Bardhaman House (currently Bangla Academy). Realising his passion for art, his family decided to enrol him at the art college after matriculation. He got admission at the then College of Arts and Crafts (now Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Dhaka) and completed his Bachelors and Masters on Fine Arts. Later he joined the institute as a teacher. From 1973 to 1976, he studied printmaking in Athens School of Fine Arts under the Greek Government’s postgraduate scholarship.
Nabi likes to go into details. Since the late 1960s, Nabi’s social commitment has become more and more apparent. His creativity is intensely moved by national, social and political crises. This is fairly reflected in his drawings.
At the exhibition, Nabi’s “Kingfisher” shows the brightly coloured birds eagerly waiting for their prey. The artist has beautifully captured a moment in time. His hugely popular cartoon character Tokai functions as an observer of the social disorders, political chaos, and injustice.
One of his drawings shows a large vessel with boatmen. As part of his experiment, different kinds of boats are seen in his drawings. Nabi has been eagerly studying movements of figures and arrangements of compositions. For a long time, he has purposefully done it. In this sense, he is very meticulous about his composition.
Some of his drawings zoom in on herds of cows and buffalos — a common rural scene. Curved lines and lucid compositions are significant aspects of most of the drawings. Interrelationship among man, animal and nature is another noticeable subject in his works.
The exhibition will continue till December 20.
