Display of Bangladeshi paintings in Japan

Bangladesh by Kamruzzaman (left) & Old Dhaka by MM Maizuddin

Water-colour is a difficult medium to handle but the painters appear to have done well for themselves. The presentation of "The old temple" by Asmita Alam brings in an old building with spires and alcoves. Green hedges cover the lower portion of the wall. The foreground and background have been well brought in with sweeps of green and pale blue colours. Chandan Kumar Barman's "Composition" brings in the sitting room of a house where things are in a disarray. This is done is shades of cobalt blue and beige with some flecks of orange and green. The subject is a everyday one but has been presentation is fresh.

The landscape by Bishwajit Goswami has all the ingredients of a pleasant countryside. Thus we have tall palm trees in a cluster at the back and simple house in the centre with paths leading away from it. Tall clumps of dried grass are seen in the foreground. Blotches of green and indigo are the highlights of this work, which speaks of tranquility. Another foray into nature is Kazi Nargis Afroja Tania's "Our past" which brings in pillars entwined with creepers. These are presented with their leaves, roots and branches. Arches and brick walls are included in the composition of sap green, brown and purple. The twining of the branches seen against the dark brick walls and the reflected shade of the arches at the back are splendid.

Kamruzzman's "Bangladesh" has a warm depiction of a marketplace with goat sheds, lumber go-downs and salesmen going about their work. The entire painting is done in shades burnt sienna and yellow ochre, touched with purple here and there. The goats are playing in the front while the logs are piled at the side. "Dhaka city" with its indigo and black and its highlights of yellow and orange by Ahkamul Haque Tunir is antoher delight. What might appear drab and mundane by day appears exotic with nightfall and the intermittent lighting effects. The work is awash with blue and has a minimum of line strokes to represent the entire city.

Shazzad Hashem Khan's "Monsoon" is an idyllic piece with clouds and rain done in splashes of purple and brown. The ground below is equally splashed with bars of dark shades, giving the effect of layered texture work. Shahid Kazi's "Night view" is all in gray and black presenting swirls and masses of lines and heaps of washes, some of which represent boats tied up. Multicoloured shadows on water are brought in Sadek Ahmed's "After raining". This has tall trees and their branches shown on collected pools of grayish purple water.

All the overwhelming flavour of the old part of the city is seen in MM Mazuddin's "Old Dhaka". The narrow streets with the passers by, the gathering birds on the electrical wires overhead, and rows of balconies are including in this painting with its brown washes. "Old building" by Imdadul Khan has the same element of nostalgia.

The young artists' works speak of talent and toil.