Contrast in the rural and urban: Art talk with Marufa A Chowdhury

On Saturday, artist Marufa A Chowdhury opened up about her experiences at Art Talk in 3rd Space, Dhanmondi. Titled Contrast in the rural and urban, the talk was hosted by Arafat Ahmed Ali. The session, attended by youths, began with a brief introduction of the artist and the participants of the art talk.

Marufa A Chowdhury, an established ceramic artist, talked about her journey and inspirations. She was raised in Dhaka and later, pursued her education in Santiniketan, India. The artist has won several awards from the Bishal Foundation and Bulbul Lalit Kala Academy, among others.  

Chowdhury shared her views on the simplicity of the rural Santal villages near Santiniketan and how they intrigued her. Starting from the people to their homes, everything about their lives touched her. Thus, her work reflects the contrast between her experiences of growing up in Dhaka and as an art student in Santiniketan.  

The artist presented her views on the art form. “Pottery is a type of meditation, to be honest. Ceramic work needs to use a lot of natural elements like clay and fire, among others,” she mentioned, “You need to immerse yourself into it.” 

A Powerpoint presentation with pictures of her artworks, including ceramic art, painting and pottery, was displayed at the discussion, where the artist shared the message and inspiration behind each one of her creation.

Among the few samples she had showcased, the blue pottery pieces, made using the Turko-Persian pottery technique, captivated the audience. The name ‘blue pottery’ comes from the eye-catching cobalt blue dye used to color pottery. With no clay being used, the ‘dough’ for the pottery is prepared by mixing quartz stone powder, powdered glass, multani mati (Fuller’s Earth), borax, gum and water.  

The art talk concluded with a question/answer session with the participants.