The New Nation - Internet Edition

Memories and Desire

From left: Vertigo, Acrylic on paper and Nature
Clock, Acrylic on paper

Sheikh Arif Bulbon

Najma Akhter is a familiar name in the arena of oriental art. She started her new journey to abstract when she found herself a new and innovative path for exploration. She took the option to painting when she was moved by deep and slight states of feelings. These were on displayed at her third solo exhibition titled 'Memories and Desire' at the La Gallerie of the Alliance Francaise at Dhanmondi in the city. The two-week long exhibition ended on October 29.

Najma is a passionate painter whose primary aim is to express her inner world through art. Her soul is always in search of a space where emerald green, azure, crimson and yellow come together to represent great affliction and ecstasy. Her space is filled up sometimes with bright and at other times ironically submissive colours.

Space is almost as important as colour to Najma. She prefers free spaces and not mixed-up ones, revealing a sensibility that desires at times for the wide open world of the rustic even when acknowledging the necessity of dealing with the detaining, constricting limiting of the urban life. Her abstraction is colour and form oriented. Some motifs of her paintings have been taken from nature and the deep ocean is a recurring theme in her works in which she finds ever-changing mysterious divisions.

In the show, her works depicted the scenic beauty of the Penang Hill. The mysterious mountains were featured in her paintings in a lively and animated mode. She played with texture and illusion for surface effects. Space has been created on the canvas although some of the colours have been applied flat.

Therefore, manifestation of the aesthetic elements was her one the prominent characters in her works. Her work had a peaceful effect and she tried to avoid the irrelevant objects.

Anyone can be pleased while looking the charismatic beauty of use of colour by Najma. Not surprisingly, for someone who had been attracted to versions of pastoral, her favourite colour seems to be green and emerald like her works titled 'Nature Clock' and 'Mind Machine.' But phobia of urban life has also made her juxtapose blue, violet, grey and black to create an urban reality in very impressive mood.

Now Najma likes to work in acrylic, which she feels is a medium where an artist gets a taste of coolness. She is comfortable working on any size of canvas according to the painting's theme and composition.

Group art show at Gallery Kamranga

From left: Artist Rafiqun Nabi inaugurates the
exhibition at Gallery Kamranga, unexcitable, Mixed media on
paper, Aowlad Hossain and seen beyond sight, Acrylic,
Mahmudur Rahman

Art & Culture Report

A nine-day long group art exhibition of three contemporary artists was inaugurated at Gallery Kamranga in Gulshan in the city on October 24.

Eminent artist and Dean of the Institute of Fine Arts of Dhaka University Prof Rafiqun Nabi inaugurated the show as chief guest, while artist Jamal Ahmed was present as guest of honour on the occasion.

The participant three artists are - Mahmudur Rahman Dipon, Shahnaz Sultana and Aowlad Hossain. Speciality of the exhibition is that among the participant artists academic background of Shahnaz Sultana was not fine arts.

But other two artists were students of the Department of Drawing and Painting of the Institute of Fine Arts.

A total of 66 arts works are on display at the show.

In works of Artist Mahmudur Rahman Dipon, he has expressed flexibility and robust responses to the inner human emotions of transient moments.

These were captured faithfully in his acrylic compositions.

Since 1987 Dipon's paintings have been displayed in 17 exhibitions in the country. He has participated in three workshops and art camps. He has received art awards since 1985 with gold medal and best award in watercolour.

With the vision of expression "Painting is my freedom," artist Shahnaz Sultana, who is an artist but she completed her masters degree in Finance and Banking under the School of Business, Dhaka University. She took painting as natural process and found guidance by the renowned artist Anwar Jahan.

She is a self-confident person with an extrovert personality. Her ability to arrive at abstraction and draw summery in pmression was outstanding.

Her aesthetic beauty in oil excel in composition and colour, found in the titled 'Spring 1,' 'Spring 2' and 'Sky and Forest.'

Artist Aowlad Hossain has a practical approach to represent his works.

He focused on the activities of daily life. This was narrative expressed in his titled 'Unacceptable,' 'Illusion' and 'Diagonal Life.'

These were done in mixed media.

His meticulous workmanship in bold colour strikes the viewer at once. The exhibition remain opens from 10:00am to 7:00pm till November 1.

Chaturanga

Visitors watching artworks at the Zainul Gallery of
the Institute of Fine Arts of Dhaka University

Art & Culture Report

A week-long group art exhibition of former four female students of the Institute of Fine Arts of Dhaka University was held at the Zainul Gallery in the city recently.

The participant artists were Kamrun Nahar Tandra, Mafruha Begum Beauty, Rawjatul Jannat Champa and Afroza Anjum Rosy.

One of the specialities of the exhibition was that the participant four artists were students of the 80's at the Charukala (Institute of Fine Arts). Now all of them are working in different organisations.

Kamrun Nahar Tandra said, "We have passed our academic career in this institution. Now I am working at Proshika as Graphic Designer and Senior Programme Coordinator. After many days we have decided to arrange a group show, which will be our get-together also."

"We believe present artists will get opportunity to see our works and can realise our expression of works."

A total of 45 art works on display at the exhibition. It was inaugurated on October 23 and ended on October 29.

While addressing Mafruha Begum Beauty said, "At present I am working at the SAARC Agricultural Centre. As a result, I find very little time to draw something. But when I get opportunity I start to draw something as a passionate artist. I love Jibanananda Das. I get inspiration from his creative works on nature and it always reflect on my art works."

In works of Beauty she emphasised on river. She focused on it as her works. Here also Jibanananda Das also inspired her.

In works of Afroza Anjum Rosy, now working as graphic designer in Bangladesh Agriculture Research Council, she focused on her childhood. There was also a series named 'childhood' in the exhibition. Childhood expressions and emotions were vividly described in the series.

Another participant artist Rowjatul Jannat Champa, designer and proprietor of Ambory and also teacher of SFX Greenherald International School, said, "I want to survive with my paintings. It helps me to get relief from any kind of bad action. When I start my work I find nothing is going to be happened. But I continue it recklessly. As a result, I can create something. This my working style." In her works, titled 'Destruction' could

represent her phenomena.

Exhibition at Russian Cultural Centre: To mark 135th birth anniversary of Alexei Schusev

One of the photographs featuring works of Alexei
Schusev at the exhibition at the Russian Cultural
Centre

Art & Culture Report

An exhibition featuring works of Alexei Schusev, an acclaimed Russian academician and architect, was inaugurated at the Russian Centre of Science and Culture at Dhanamondi in the city on October 28.

The Russian Embassy organised the show to mark the 135th birth anniversary of Alexei Schusev whose works may be regarded as a bridge connecting revivalist architecture of imperial Russia with Stalin's Empire Style.

ASM Ismail, Chief Architect of the Government of Bangladesh, was present as chief guest, while Badrul Haider, President of Architecture Alumni Association BUET (ARCAAB), chaired the session.

Yuri Makarov, Head of the Cultural Department and the Fisrt Secretary of the Russian Federation in Bangladesh, among others, were present on the occasion. A total of 27 works of Shchusev are on display at the show.

Yuri said, "In Soviet era, Alexei worked out the general plan of reconstruction and development of Moscow in cooperation with architect Ivan Zheltovsky, created designs for the mausoleum of Vladimir Lenin in the Red Square, famous Moscow Hotel, Kazan Railway Station, metro station Komsomolskaya, Moskvoretsky Bridge over the Moscow River and a number of office and high-rise VIP residential buildings in Moscow." Other notable designs of Shchusev were the Narkomzem in Moscow and the Institute of Resorts in Sochi, considered to be a major source for Alvar Aalto's Paimio Sanatorium, he said. Shchusev, who expired in Moscow on May 24 in 1949, was awarded the Stalin prizes in 1941, 1946, 1948, and posthumously in 1952.

The exhibition remains open to all till November 6 from 11:00am to 5:00pm everyday except Friday and Saturday.