The 20th National Art Biennale going on at the National Art Gallery of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy will end tomorrow.
What is most noticeable in this year’s exhibition is that most of the awarded artworks in particular and other entries on display in
general showcased contemporary social issues.
The works on display address subjects in realist and abstract forms. Several installations and paintings depict the turmoil and hazards the country is undergoing.
This year’s exhibition received a total of 1260 artworks by 548 artists under different categories. Out of that, 280 artworks by 255 artists had been selected for display. Among them, 222 are paintings and drawings, 40 sculptures, 3 tapestries and 15 installations.
From the 280 selected artworks, nine were selected by a four-member jury consisting of Hashem Khan, Rafiqun Nabi, Samarjit Roy Chowdhury and Syed Jahangir for nine prestigious awards.
This year, one drawing, four installation works and four paintings were given awards.
The grand award called Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy award was conferred on Md Mainuddin for his drawing work titled Monajat. This is for the first time that a drawing work has been given the grand award.
In addition, a brilliant installation titled Signature by Hasanur Rahman depicting the heart-wrenching catastrophe of Rana Plaza, another installation named I am 42 Years Old depicting the peril of Bangladesh as a democratic country by Hasan Morshed and a thought-provoking painting Save the Children by Munjurul Lovy were duly given the BSA Honorary Citation award.
Beside the four BSA-sponsored awards, five more awards were given by different organisations.
Gulshan Hossain bagged the Bengal Foundation award for her inspired installation called Eternal Journey of Burnt Female Workers of Garment Factory which depicts the fire accident at Tazreen Fashion last year.
Ruhul Karim Rumi secured the first SPBA award for his eye-catching painting Portraits of Ambiguity-3, Rasel Kanti Das and Zahida Akhter won the AB Bank award and Begum Azizunnessa Fine Arts Award for their painting Situation-8 and sculpture Vagabond-1 respectively.
‘We have awarded those works that have pleased us aesthetically and artistically. There are many works on display that carry strong messages,’ said Samarjit Roy Chowdhury to New Age.
Hundreds of enthusiasts and art aficionados have visited the exhibition.
Some of the artists, however, shared with New Age that the twenty-day biennale should be extended to a month.
National art biennale was first introduced in 1975 in the country’s fine arts arena to invigorate the art scene of Bangladesh.
-With New Age input
