Iffat Ara Dewan's solo art show at Shilpangan to open tomorrow
As an artist, she incorporates the nuances of music into her canvas. “Waheed bhai wanted me to perform the songs; for which he would give me incentives and original 78 RPMs (revolutions per minute) to listen to the songs so that I can perform them. I also collected several 78 RPMs from my paternal grandfather's residence,” says Dewan.
Her 14th solo painting exhibition tiled Chander Eto Alo (The Brilliant Moon) starts at Shilpangan Gallery, Lalmatia, Dhaka tomorrow. Internationally famous artist Monirul Islam will inaugurate the show as the chief guest. “The title of the exhibition is taken from the song, Chander Eto Alo, Tobu Shey Amarey Daak-e, Utola Madhobi Raat-e by Talat Mahmood. I also recorded the song for one of my CDs,” mentions Dewan.
Though she was fond of painting from a young age, she started pursuing it seriously in 1990, when Bengal Foundation produced 33 LPs (Long plays) for her. “Abul Khair, the chairman of Bengal Foundation, wanted to use one of my paintings for the LP. I completed quite a number of paintings,” she explains. “Later, he suggested that I hold a solo exhibition with the rest of the artworks. My first solo exhibition was held at German Cultural Centre in 1992. After that, I went to pursue an art education course in London. However, I did not complete it after two months of intensive studies.”
For Dewan, painting is a way of depicting literary pieces that portray parts of her own life. “Moonbeams and its reflecting ambience are prominent in my recent works and music is intuitively inserted into my paintings,” expresses Dewan, who has so far exhibited her works at several galleries in Dhaka, Kolkata, Singapore, and Paris.
“I exercise freedom in my practice of paintings on soft pastel and acrylic. I feel great when I can depict the canvas with my favourite colours, and the same goes for performing songs.”
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