Seventeenth anniversary exhibition at Galleri Kaya

Galleri Kaya celebrates its 17th founding anniversary through a soon to be inaugurated exhibit at its Uttara premises beginning Friday, 8 October 2021. The eagerly anticipated annual event is set to exhibit some 72 artworks from 32 modern and contemporary artists. It will be an opportunity for connoisseurs and art lovers alike to experience works by some of the greatest names in the local art scene.

"Art is after all a visual experience and in the past one and half years we earnestly missed the footfall within the gallery. Although our activities shrunk, we made a positive effort to remain active despite the grim events around us. We curated online shows, but the feeling of being at an exhibition in person was missing. Currently, as the COVID-19 situation has improved, we decided to eventually go ahead with our grand plans to hold the annual anniversary exposition" said Goutam Chakraborty, artist, and director, Galleri Kaya.

Like every human experience that is a reflection of life, art speaks volumes of human resilience and fortitude. The COVID-19 pandemic has made irreparable losses in our lives, but it has also taught us the very important lesson that life bounces back, despite all odds human beings have the indomitable courage to get back to where it was.

Although not as visible in their activities as in the past, during the pandemic the gallery remained host to two art camps within the city of Dhaka that explored life and surroundings of this bustling metropolis of ours. A camp took place at the scenic setting of Lalakhal, Sylhet.

"The events were organised maintaining all health protocols. And they were charming events with great conversations and spectacular exercises in art," said Chakraborty.

With their signature exhibition, Galleri Kaya is ushering a new wave of activities in this new normal. The exhibition will give an opportunity for some of the younger artists of this generation to brush their shoulders with giants in the art world. Thus, aficionados will see the likes of Shahnoor Mamun, Ashraful Hasan, Shohag Parvez, Ruhul Amin Tarek with famed artists like Samarjit Roy Choudhury, Rafiqun Nabi, Hamiduzzaman Khan, Shahabuddin Ahmed, Mohammad Eunus, Jamal Ahmed, Ranjit Das, Shishir Bhattacharjee, Mohammad Iqbal, Anisuzzaman to name a few. This will also be a great opportunity to revisit iconic works by Aminul Islam, Debdas Chakraborty, and Murtaja Baseer. The exposition will also display some artworks by the legendary M F Husain of India.

When inquired about what holds in the future for Galleri Kaya, the introspective artist Goutam Chakraborty revealed his desire to work more in archiving and publications.

"Bangladeshi art has not quite succeeded in breaking the border and burst into the global, or even the regional scene. This one can attribute to the lack of sufficient research, which itself is a fallout of the absence of a robust local art market. Perhaps, if the government comes forward much could have been achieved in this academic sector," said artist Goutam Chakraborty.

Photo: Galleri Kaya