Poignant paintings & prints

Artworks by Mao Nakada (Left) and Iftikhar Uddin Ahmed

The symbolic, vibrant mixed-media work by Iftikharuddin Ahmed, of international repute for three decades, presents the pendulums of life in gold, gray and white. They have the intrinsic designs of compass -- essential for scientific progress. Set on a backdrop of scintillating curved rectangle, the subjects are framed with a dramatic swoop of black and umber, touched with burnt-sienna and ultramarine. Burnt-umber and white along with royal blue and white project the subject. Interesting and thought-provoking, minute texture work lend more interest. The title of the work is Searching space and perfection.

Kanakchanpa's Evening in Hill (mixed-media), done in orange, gray and black, present Kanak's eternal theme of the Hill Tracts women. The subject, done in quick black sweeps, has chunky, silver jewels and the tribal costume with motifs. Vegetable gourd utensils to the left and dramatic sweeps of black and gray complete the mesmeric work.

KM Mithu's A piece of memory (acrylic on paper) brings in the poignant past of pearl gray and white containing images with quick, feathery strokes in gentle multi-colours. Flecks of red, blue and ruby-red balance the careful but spontaneous composition. Muslim Mia's wood mix print, Element of folk song contains a cockerel with intertwining loops and bars of notes. Gentle splashes of royal-blue, jet-black and mauve gray along with matching texture work hold up the subject.

The romantic creation In my room (woodcut) by Mao Nakada, from Japan, is certainly eye-catching and soothing. Done in shades of turquoise and jade, specially the subject of the still-life, a vase with sweeping blossoms in aquamarine and topaz gold, the lilting work is touched off by splashes of white and a stroke of jet-black. Atsuko Minami's In the bubble (lithograph) is a mind-whirling creation with blobs, circles, triangles and other geometrical forms. The final impact of the print is like some enlarged vision of falling raindrops -- seen in the evening -- through a window of a speeding train, or a prism.

Expose-4 (etching) by Shuzoo Kumagai is a part of an overwhelming series that creates images of swirling, gliding and falling free-forms. The subjects could be taken for pensive human heads, butterfly wing motifs, accumulating dust and water on a burnt-sienna wall, or scintillating colours, sometimes seen on paths after rain and snow-storm. Twin-boat (lithograph) by Tsukiko Baba with soft, caressing images of gray upon lighter gray is also appealing.