The second round of the group art exhibition titled, A Thousand Tales, concluded yesterday at Drik Gallery, Dhanmondi. Organised by the students of artist and teacher Ripon Kumar Das, the invigorating exhibition showcased 79 artworks by a total of 22 young and aspiring artists. The most commonly used medium on the works was acrylic on paper. There were also some watercolour paintings, charcoal sketches, oil pastel drawings and woodcarvings.

Speaking to the participating artists made it apparent that the art classes influenced them not only to the extent of obtaining the skills and honing their craft, but also in putting form to their imagination and inspiration. While the styles and subject matters of some of the works spoke of youth, the thoughts behind them were quite mature. Raima Rahman, one of the organisers of the event, explained that the exhibition is relevant because it is important for people to see what the young generation has to say.

The students explained that the structure of their art classes are free-flowing and creatively stimulating, with adequate freedom given to them to test out where their passion lies in art. Apart from drawing and painting, the classes include conversations about a wide range of topics including art history, religion and politics, all of which become a significant part of the art making process.

Photo: Shanto Lawrence Costa

For young artist Arafat Ahmed Ali, art is a way to learn about everything else. “Art is not only about putting paintbrush on canvas. Each subject and composition requires research and in-depth study, whether it be biology - when it comes to drawing a frog - or human emotions,” he said. On the other hand, artist Fiaz Rahi Khan said that one of his inspirations lies in the power of a painting in which a person's face can speak of their history.

Among the artworks on display, many showcased an interesting use of acrylics to create texture and lighting. Some common subjects included Dhaka's fish markets, natural landscapes, portraits as well as surrealistic concepts influenced by contemporary styles.

One notable work was Buoyancy by Mahira Rashid that showed the streets of Old Dhaka painted in monochrome with a man holding a bunch of multi-coloured helium balloons. Masuda Khan Juti's Uber Epar Opar portrayed the artist's perceived difference between the decoration of Uber cars in Kolkata and in Dhaka. Arafat Ahmed's series titled Khushi included paintings of a piece of cloth, the first of which is fully white and clean. It went on to become dirtier with spots of black appearing with each use, till the last painting showed the cloth to be all but black with a small golden dot in its centre. He related it to the passage of time, as negativity piles onto one's life with age. The golden dot signified the little things which make our life beautiful and worth enduring all the pain.

The exhibition was inaugurated on January 25.