‘His Dream World’ opens at Shilpangan today

Nasir Ali Mamun’s portrait by Monirul Islam

Shilpangan, the contemporary art gallery, has organised His Dream World, an exclusive exhibition, featuring the works of 50 great artists of Bangladesh and India. The 110 artworks at the exhibition are selected from the private collection of legendary Bangladeshi photographer, Nasir Ali Mamun. Renowned business personality and poet Rubana Huq, the first elected female President of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, will inaugurate the exhibition as the chief guest at 5 pm today. Art critic Moinuddin Khaled will also be in attendance. Eminent artist Hamiduzzaman Khan will preside over the event.

His Dream World is based on drawings collected by Mamun throughout different points of his career, as he visited numerous artists to take their portrait photographs. Works of several renowned artists, including Quamrul Hassan, S M Sultan, Aminul Islam, Murtaja Baseer, Abdur Razzaque, Kazi Abdul Baset, Qayyum Chowdhury, Syed Jahangir, Rafiqun Nabi, Monirul Islam, Shahabuddin Ahmed, K G Subramanyan, Paritosh Sen, Ganesh Pyne, Lalu Shaw, Wasim R Kapoor, Robin Mondal and Jogen Chowdhury among others, are on display at the exhibition.

Eminent artist Syed Jahangir depicted Tagore on paper, while renowned sculptor Ferdousi Priyabhashini, portrayed Gurudev on acrylic. Her work uncannily resembles the Tagorean style. Sheikh Afzal’s work on Tagore has drawings mingled with minimal watercolours. The magical black lines will easily attract the viewers. The exhibition sheds light on self-portraits by many artists like Abdur Razzaque, Murtaja Baseer and Shahabuddin Ahmed. Several visages of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, depicted by Shahabuddin Ahmed, are also on exhibit. 

Murtaja Baseer’s meticulous drawings of his self-portrait and other drawings, enrich the exhibition. Some of his line-based drawings depict visually stunning realistic portraits. Internationally renowned artist Monirul Islam’s application of paint is intense and his lines are more minimised. The colours in his paintings are bold and vivacious. Islam’s masterful paintings and a portrait of Nasir Ali Mamun enhance the standard of the show. New York based renowned Bangladeshi artist Anowar Hossain’s arwork of Frida Kahlo (charcoal) is outstanding. 

Some seasoned Indian painters’ drawings add to the significance of the group show. Purnendu Pattrea’s lyrical drawings, K G Subramanyan and Jogen Chowdhury’s drawings and serigraphs, Dhiraj Chowdhury’s work on the Liberation War are renowned for their individual styles and techniques. Noted Indian artist Jogen Chowdhury is well known among Bangladeshi artists and critics. At the exhibition, the audience will see his depiction of organic forms and magical unbroken lines.

Mamun, who is referred to as the ‘The Poet of Camera’, has been photographing renowned creative personalities for nearly five decades. He was the first artiste to introduce the concept of portrait photography in Bangladesh in 1972. Since then, he has been collecting autographs of famous poets and writers. As of now, Mamun has 10,000 artworks in his collection. He has built great friendships with every artist he met over the years.

“I am deeply indebted to the artists, poets and writers. Patua Quamrul Hassan did my portrait twice, while S M Sultan sketched my visage eight times. These presents, I think, are as special as winning National Awards, said Mamun. “31 artworks from the 110 that will be on display, are already sold out, which is inspiring. This is the third time that I am hosting an exhibition of this kind.  Previously, I exhibited my collection of artworks at Bengal Shilpalay in 2012 and 2014.” His Dream World, opening from 3 pm to 8 pm every day, will conclude on January 11, 2020.