Culling the cream of art works

Nasreen Begum

The works of Quamrul Hassan included a female form in simple but indelible sweeps of as sketch. The lines were black, dramatic and bold. His delineation of the female form has surely not been surpassed by any except perhaps by Zainul Abedin and that too the Shilpcharya has not been known overseas for that. Mohammed Kibria's print had crosses, simple dots and other geometrical formations which one could study for hours on end although this was done in stark black, gray and white. The print took you into in another world of dreams, aspirations and joys of time gone by and reminded you of the gentle raindrops of Bangladesh which the local people take delight in, although they sometimes lead to floods and ultimate famines too in some cases.

As we moved on to the works of Razzaque, one was overwhelmed completely by the mastery of the strokes and the subtle creation of harmony in the compositions. Rafiqun Nabi had presented boats, poised on the riverside in his print which also included the river alongside. Sweeps of gentle intermingling blue shades and sweeps of light green had created the idyllic atmosphere of our subcontinent scenes when the rains have not yet created a havoc. This was keeping in mind the topic of the exhibition (which did not particularly go with the subject or theme as regards most of the work). Hashim Khan's supremacy of brush strokes was apparent in his painting containing boats with their geometrical bright vermilion and other flamboyant sails seen juxtaposed with the tinier boats at the bottom. The details of the houseboats with their inhabitants and the waves as well as the overcast sky was clear and cut a superb impact. Equally impressive were his depiction of the birds, for which he is locally famous, with their open beaks, flutting wings, under the gathering clouds.

Monirul Islam's print included layers of dripping gray streaks. This was subtle, moving and poetic as are all Monirul Islam's works, not being partial. The inclusion of muted but buoyant hues such as orange and scintillating blues somehow were both dynamic and dreamlike. Rokeya Sultana's prints of the couples, one done in shades of ruby and the other of royal blue, with variations, swirls and glides were the brilliant presentation of someone who, years back, had won herself the fame of being the first Bangladeshi to have proved herself as nonpareil in Shantiniketan. Today as a teacher at the Fine arts Institute, she enjoys the reputation of being a very caring teacher. Nasreen Begum's water-colours had been swept away long before one could even make one's way to "Dhropad"; yet one could recall the beauty of her washes in the depiction of herself, being swept by the waves of St. Martins in the painting that had been bought so readily.

Kanak Chanpa Chakma's gorgeous recollections of her birthplace, the Chittagong Hill Tracts, that she had brought in the frames for a decade were surely all love of labour. She had portrayed the delectable women of Burmese origin , with skimpy but eye-catching clothes, the tiny blouses and the hip-hugging "lungis". The chunky, shiny silver jewellery that decorated these young and delectable femmes fatales. The old man by Jamal Ahmed was soul-stirring for its stirring portraiture. In the painting could be seen an old beggar with his copper wrist band, cover of a ragged red cloth complete with details of his graying curling hair and beard and the shadows on the pavement.

Equally breathtaking was Kuhu's work of the "burqa"-clad woman, along with the face of surely a rickshaw-puller, who was seen speeding with the lady. Kuhu had much earlier held an exhibit with just these questionable but mysterious and beautiful ladies, in their black sweeping, silken attire: Yet their beauty shone through the cascading, billowing and drowning "burqas". One admired the details of the bronze face and the inclusion of the bits of gold jewellery.

Seen later but certainly and surely not of the least importance, regarded as some critiques as surely the local art works most worth studying, were the sketches by Shishir Bhattacharya. Shishir had held up the mirror to the prevailing socio-economic and political dissatisfaction of our society. This malaise was not limited to present times but was the confusing situation that Shishir had repeated portrayed on canvas and paper in his Surrealistic works. His compositions contained men, women animals, birds, reptiles, flying objects and other miscellaneous items crying out for attention.

Although the title of the exhibition harked back to an earlier one some time back at another art outlet, the display was a veritable feast for the eyes.