Abstraction: The call of the times
While presenting his works, Iftikhar has brought in images of pillars and compasses. Pillars stand for strength, which is necessary for every work, while the compass stands for perfection. In Target there are men who are ascending while others are falling. This too has used symbols. In Searching beauty the artist has repeatedly used the form of the arch. In one he has taken two red points and then played with a bold, black, broad shape. In another he has taken the basic shapes of the rickshaw and presented it in simple twists of orange, green and black. We get the impression of the rickshaw hood and seat. He has taken the primary colours, blue, red and yellow and played with them around the forms found in a rickshaw.
In another canvas, we see people gathered together after a disaster and in front of them is the space that has been destroyed by nature. Something new that he has added to his paintings are the maps which architects have discarded and Iftikhar has used as collage. By this he has focused on the idea that man needs planning in whatever he does.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. In one of his images of his horse, the artist has brought in the concept of success, in the upturned hands of joy seen on top of the horse. In the other image of the horse, 71--Now and in future the theme is a pessimistic one. Tears run down the cheeks of the horse, which bears a flag. His bones stick out and he appears to be totally tired and run down. The horse is worn out as there is no one to hold the reins.
Iftikhar says that as a student he has been guided by Abdul Baset, Rafiqun Nabi and Mahbubul Amin. Later, Mohammed Kibria guided him with his work. When he went to Paris in 1993, he got opportunity to visit many art galleries and museums which influenced his work. After his return in 1995, he went to more art centres overseas, in Holland, Germany, Italy, Belgium, USA, South Africa, Pakistan, Nepal and Malaysia. He began to realise his position vis-Ã -vis the other artists of the world. His work, exhibited anywhere in the world, would not appear out of place, such is his outlook and presentation. He does each canvas at a time, and sometimes he stores his memories in notebooks. Iftikhar says that compared to the artists in Pakistan, the art movement in Bangladesh would be seen as more progressive, and even compared to India, our artists have more freedom.
Iftikhar has won seven awards including one in the 9th Asian Art Biennale in 1999, and the 1st prize in painting in 'Artists of the World' in France in 1994. His latest prize has been from Japan in 2003.