Portraying the bucolic beauty of Bangladesh

Renowned artist Samar Majumder's third solo exhibition, titled 'Soul Searching: A Personal Journey' took place at the contemporary art gallery Shilpangan, Lalmatia in the capital. The month-long exhibition concludes tomorrow.

The artist's singular style occupies time-honoured folk motifs and Bengali ballads. Throughout his entire life and artistic career, Samar Majumder persistently experiments with newer modes of expression - his compositions are natural in essence, as they relate to the soul, soil and the bucolic beauty of Bangladesh. He consciously takes his artistic muse and strength from human feelings and emotions.  

Photos: Sheikh Mehedi Morshed.

Art lovers can easily connect his simplistic forms that engage his ideas in a dialectical exploration of metaphors, nuances and meanings. Yet, at the same time, they depict different expressive modes. Folk art has got a new lease of life, thanks to the dedicated creative efforts by the artist. He continues to experiment with the conventional folk motifs and creates his own works blending those with the touch of modernity. 

Following the folk-traditions of Shilpacharya Zainul Abedin, Patua Quamrul Hassan, Safiuddin Ahmed, SM Sultan, Jamini Roy and other master artists, the prominent features in Samar's works include varied connotations of folk elements such as tepa putul, sora, nakshi kantha, design of homemade cake, jar, boat, bird, tree, river, fish, crop, flower, fruit, animal and the life sketches of rural people.

Samar Majumder's compositions are bordered with free-flowing thick brush lines set on a thin layered colour background.  His sketches retain only the bare essentials, sometimes employing just a brief line to cover for a whole figure. Yet, they are immensely expressive. Mature hues and a lyrical colour balance are prominent features of his body of works. 

Closely observing the lives of village people, artisans, farmers and the nature of rural Bangladesh, the artist has adeptly depicted common characters of pastoral Bangladesh. The 'rakhal' playing flute, fishermen's fishing in the river at night, house in coastal area, mother, angling whole day on a boat, framers' working in the field, village girl with her pet, girl with water lily and the musician are some of his prominent depictions for the ongoing exhibit.  

His three-decade long career as an Assistant Chief Designer at BSCIC (Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation) helped him understand and support various artisans. At BSCIC, he also received mentorship from legendary artist Quamrul Hassan. He initially worked with textiles and tapestry, but his work allowed him to travel throughout the country where he got to know the lives of artisans and rural people.

Samar Majumdar started painting in his early childhood. Later, he completed his academic studies from the Institute if Fine Arts, University of Dhaka in 1980. For the last four decades, he has been working on book cover designs and illustrations. He also garnered the best cover designer award from National Book Center six times.