Of gliding, lyrical forms in wood

(L-R) Lady & bird, Lady & birds and Kingstork

Lovelu carves on wood as that that is how he can best express himself. He turns to the beauty of nature in rural Bangladesh as an escape from the quagmire of urban existence. He brings in interesting female figures and strutting peacocks, along with cozy nesting scenes of exotic birds, with branches and leaves forming romantic arcades of heaven.

With the same ease he brings in flying dolphins, perched kingfishers and wide-winged butterflies in burnt sienna, burnt umber, turquoise and Indian red. The forms are carefully and patiently carved creating a sense of peace, joy and harmony in the mind of the onlooker. Sometimes the elements of nature are seen on their own and at times seen against the enveloping figure of a woman, who holds birds of different shapes and sizes. The female wood-nymph appears to be an integral part of the trees, branches and blossoms seen behind the human form.

When seen by themselves, as in birds on a goat, the impact is still poetic -- with the upward looking birds with longs beaks and tails -- perched on the elongated back of a brown goat with large staring eyes, curved horns and other curled details of the head and body. The seven elegant birds are paler than the goat, and so stand out with their folded wings and curved tails. In Image-1 with the flower burst, one is faced with a large flower with five-petals, done in shades of burnt sienna and black, edged with dashes of white. Turquoise flue forms the backdrop for the simple but sophisticated composition.

Elephants, elephants and more elephants are seen in Nature-7. One is overwhelmed by the projection of elephant tusks, heads and ears, blended with the elements of the forests, such as its trees, birds and reptiles. This is found in curls, loops and scallops of blue and variations of brown. Semi-abstract creations are also to be found, where one pauses at various sweeps and folds to find suggestions of heads of animals and birds.

In addition to the sculpture pieces are sketches of elements from nature. These too have been done with pristine lines and loops, depicting owl, peacocks, storks, fishes of various shapes and sizes.

Lovelu, who has a superb academic record from the Fine Arts Institute, DU, has seven awards to his credit.