760 masterpieces on display
Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy, for the first time ever since its founding in 1974, has exhibited its grand collection of original
artworks by maestros in an exhibition.
For the aficionados of fine arts, the two week-long exhibition of 760 masterpieces by late and contemporary master artists is a rare chance that no one would like to miss.Besides the popular names of master artists like Zainul Abedin, Quamrul Hassan, SM Sultan, Qayyum Chowdhury, Hashem Khan, Rafikun Nabi, Hamiduzzaman Khan and many more, there are, to surprise of the visitors, a good number of works by Rabindranth Tagore and also by some noted foreign artists.
Tagore’s rare works on display are sure to pin one onto the frames. The Nobel laureate poet, who started painting in his seventies, produced some memorable artworks that are often dubbed as expressionist.
The Dancing Girl, The Bird, Scene of a Dream in mixed media -all are evocative of a sense of beauty and are spectacles on quasi-clear, hazy canvases.
In pen and ink, Tagore’s artworks are similarly arresting. Works like World of Witches, A Veiled Women and Self-Portrait are surely a feast for the eyes. Some wonderful landscapes by the master have also been exhibited.
Shilpacharya Zainul Abedin’s works also demand a must visit. There are four of them; all painted just after the cruelest 1970 storm.
Done in ink and brush, the maestro has captured the storm against a backdrop of beige and black, where men, animals and trees have drawn in their devastated forms.
Abedin’s works might produce a sad and sullen effect on the visitors, only because they are so powerfully thought-provoking.
Next to his works are Quamrul Hassan’s vibrant and colouful canvases. Known as Potua, Hassan’s works is strongly demonstrative of folk elements. One of the most famous works by Hassan titled Teen Konya is on display. Three female faces, clad in vivid yellow, red and blue sarees, dominate the green canvas. What is interesting, in the work, is that all the three faces are also parrot-like. Other works by Hassan on display include his famous Dui Konya, Nayor.
Master artist SM Sultan is also a folk-rooted artist, in a sense. But his treatment of the folk and rural elements, unlike Hassan, is realistic.
There are 49 oil and watercolour works by Sultan on display. All of them revolve around rural people and their lives. The signature style of Sultan, that is, making the figures appear very strong and muscular is prominently visible in the displayed works.
Inaugurated yesterday, the exhibition will remain open for all from 11am to 8pm till March 23.
-With New Age input
