Bangladesh is a vast and beautiful canvas

The beautiful landscapes and natural beauty of Bangladesh recurrently serve as a muse for renowned artist Karu Titas. In his untiring quest to portray the natural grace and conventional lifestyle of Bangladeshi people, he frequently travels the country to get inspiration for his artistic pursuits.

The compositions of the displayed artworks are unique. “Bangladesh attracts me a lot. I roam around different places where I find different skies, light, greenery and humans. So I need not go to Europe and America for painting. Bangladesh is vast canvas,” said Karu Titas.  

The artist's fourth solo painting exhibition is now on at Shailpangan Gallery in Dhanmondi. The show, displaying the last 30 years' artworks by Titas, will conclude on March 2. The art lovers will find an artistic journey by the artist. The title of the exhibit “Antarjatra” signifies “The Journey Within” as at the end of the day the humans return to themselves. “The experiences of my artistic journey create different visuals in my psyche. I have tried to depict Bangladesh's lake, landscape, hills, sea using multifarious forms, compositions and media like oil, acrylic, watercolour, pastel, chalk pastel, charcoal, pencil and pen drop,” mentioned the artist.

Titas depicts several restless horses in a work titled “Pencil-er Ghora” (Horses of Pencil). A kind of wilderness is portrayed at the background of the painting titled “Priyotoma 'r Phul” (Flower of the beloved). His depiction of the grace of the Birisiri landscape is awesome while several works represent the memory of faded dreams and desires.

The name of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman is synonymous to Bangladesh. He also depicted the imagery of Bangabandhu and entitled it as Bangladesh. After watching the film “Bhuban Majhi”, he depicted a painting on the same title. The director and producer of the film Fakhrul Arefeen Khan has bought the painting. “There are many negative sides in our life. But I don't depict negative aspects in my paintings. The canvas of the beauty of life is so vast that I need not depict negative subjects in my works,” asserted Titas.

“Samudra Jatra” (The Voyage of Sea) is a special series at the show. The artist portrays the series works staying at the ship for days. “Bikele Bhor-er Phul” (The flower of dawn in the afternoon) (oil, 1991), is a beautiful nude. He also depicts the back of a canvas on a canvas.

The memory of mufassil city is specially represented in several of his black and white paintings. Portrayal of a house (oil, 1991) of the mufassil city of Rajshahi where Titas would live is also on display.

The artist consciously declines to depict the cityscape of Dhaka and indulge in the vastness of Bangladesh. “Bangladesh is so beautiful and I would like to urge all to pay a visit across Bangladesh. This is the strong message of my exhibition,” said the artist.  

The loveliness of the monsoon reigns supreme in his water colours.  Titas' proclivity to portray vast landscapes coupled with boats and swirling rivers seems to foster a sense of liberated creativity as a result of being in close proximity to nature.

“The diversity of greenery, human beings and boats of Bangladesh is unparalleled. The songs of cuckoos; the murmuring sounds of fountains and rivers; the melody of rains and the simplicity of life charm us all. We render our feelings into creative forms like poetry or painting. If people of Bangladesh immerse themselves in the land's natural beauty and time-honoured cultural heritage, they need nothing else,” concludes Titas.

The son of eminent Bangladeshi sculptor Birangona Ferdousi Priyabhashini, the artist does what he loves. For him, Bangladesh has unmatched beauty that leaves the rest of the world behind.