A piece of Mymensingh in Dhaka
The 4th Bangla Art Festival by Art Bangla Foundation took place in Mymensingh from December 22 to 25, 2022. With the aim of reminiscing the Mymensingh Art Fest, an art exhibition was organised in collaboration with the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Dhaka (DU), at the Zainul Gallery at DU on July 17, 2023.
KM Khalid, MP, State Minister of Cultural Affairs, inaugurated the exhibition as the chief guest. Prof Dr ASM Maksud Kamal, Pro-VC of DU, ATM Tahmiduzzaman, DMD of United Commercial Bank, and Luva Nahid Choudhury, Director General of Bengal Foundation, were present as special guests. Prof Nisar Hossain, Dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts, DU presided over the event. After the cordial speeches from the guests, the exhibition was underway.
The art fest in Mymensingh last year was organised by Art Bangla Foundation, with artists of all ages participating along with some foreign artists, creating wonderful art pieces. The reflection of it is displayed on the walls of Zainul Gallery. The first painting that caught my eye belongs to Monjur Rashid. It is a portrait of a woman with large pink brushstrokes against a contrasting black background. Tatiana Svetkina's birdman portrays a human being's will to fly and be free. Kamruzzaman Sagar's storks with water are surrealistic and thought-provoking.
Jamal Ahmed has depicted the ever-familiar image of rural Bangladesh, with boats by a river and villagers. Azmeer Hossain's paintings contain vibrantly coloured geometric shapes. I understood very little, and yet they were able to fascinate me. Abstract expressionism in big, bold strokes made Trivedi Gupu's painting stand out. Another painting with bold strokes belongs to Dravid Saikot, showing a semi-abstract majestic image of an elephant.
Elizaveta Tarasova painted dusk, a dark blue sky-meets-horizon picture where the silhouette of a lone boatman can be seen. Imtiaj Rasel's simplistic painting shows a gateway in sepia shades along with geographical boundaries. Hasura Akter Rumky's flying pigeons are beautifully painted in glittering gold colour. Rashed Sukhon's abstract painting with bright yellow left me in awe. The black bisons on a bright crimson backdrop, by Ziaur Rahman, took my mind back to the ancient murals of Altamira cave. The lovely water lilies belong to Lokman Hossain. There is a brilliant portrait of the legendary artist S M Sultan playing the flute with cats. This was done by Didarul Limon. Nazia has painted one of the most beautiful rickshaws I have ever seen. The children's paintings with eye-catching colours are displayed in panels of six.
The entire exhibition had a comfortable vibe where one can come close to art and artists through their visions. This open-for-all exhibition will run at the Faculty of Fine Arts until July 22, 2023.