Kanak's quintessential ethnic vision
Kanak began her art studies from the Fine Art Institute from her home among the hills. She was inspired by her mother Sarat Mala Chakma, who has won international awards for her handloom work. Kanak presents the ambiance of her childhood days on her canvas and mixed media pieces and naturally feels enormous pride in holding up a mirror to her happy youth to connoisseurs and art lovers both at home and overseas. In those times, very few Bangladeshis were conscious of the numerous indigenous groups of people. Kanak wanted to make her viewers keep abreast of the multi-cultural richness of the country.
When Kanak began her career, she did sculpture and print along with her painting but now she has decided to settle in for oil, acrylic and mixed-media with canvas as the surface. Apart from her exotic and beautiful ethnic background which is reflected in the happy, contented, simple but beautiful lifestyle, Kanak has always been specially influenced by the French impressionists Matisse and Gauguin. As a student, she admired many of her teachers and senior counterparts, but was hell-bent on creating a niche for herself.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. Nancy Sperio, from USA, however, has influenced her focus on women and her desire to establish a strong individuality of her own. Kanak is also an ardent admirer of MF Hussain, Ganesh Pyne and Bikash Bhattacharya from India. She marvels at the depth of perception and powerful strokes in their modern creation and their love for representational work on flat surfaces. 'They combine the East with the West, as did my earlier mentors,' says Kanak.
Asked if she faced any problems as a woman artist, Kanak explains that she naturally has to combine homemaking with professional work, which in itself can be very tricky unless one has a steady stream of acknowledgements and admirers. In the art field, she has had the backing of her family and friends: her husband, Khalid Mahmud Mithu, a well-known artist and film director and cinematographer, backs her in pursuing her career wholeheartedly. Besides, she acknowledges, she has the backing of even her indigenous family. Without their cooperation, it is obvious that she couldn't have come so far.
Kanak Chanpa has studied in Pennsylvania as a resident artist in 1994, and has won numerous awards, including the Best Woman Artist Award from USA in 2000. She has had more than 130 major group exhibitions and 16 solo displays at home and abroad including USA, Japan, India and Bhutan.