A world of wondrous works

Composition by Asma Kibria

Zainul Abedin's Ferry Ghat had boats, docks, waves and vast masses of cream and gray clouds, heightened by jet-black strokes. Deft lines brought in crowds of passengers. Tiger and the bird, a sketch in blue, drew images from folklore. SM Sultan's Gypsy Family had the charm of tall, strong women going about their work, with piles of baskets on their heads, and their bright saris draped around their waists. Gypsy boats and a village in the distance had been included too. Kazi Abdul Baset's Fish Sellers had simplified geometrical figures of women carrying fish on their heads, set against a turquoise and beige background.

A stunning portrait of a lady, clad in a blue and white sari was brought in Murtaja Baseer's Woman in Blue. Qayyum Chowdhury's Furious River, brought in an expanse of water, land and sky, with the portrait of a man mingling with the green and blue sweeps of colours. A fawn-like figure with curly hair, doe-like eyes and full lips, playing a flute was seen in Samarat Roy Chowdhury's Flute player. It was amazing how a panorama of trees, sky, land and water were included in Mustafa Monwar's Landscape. The painting was complete in sweeps and splashes of grays, greens and browns. A collection of black lines touched with red, and set against a beige backdrop brought in Rafiqun Nabi's Wet bird.

Monirul Islam's Innocence of experience had soft, suggestive lines and colours with images, done in precise geometrical shapes. Jamal Ahmed's Bull cart had all the beauty of a Bangladeshi landscape, with domesticated animals in brown, beige and gray streaks of strokes, with the white bulls and sepia hay. Mahmudul Haque's love of the abstract was found in Green and white, which had masses of turquoise and green mixed with gray, beige and white. Anisuzzaman Anis's Complexity brought in the horror of jerrybuilding in the city with delicate lines. Abdus Shakoor Shah's Story of Chandroboty lacked the flat, raw colours which normally drew the viewer to his work of folklore. Leaping horses in blue and beige dominated Rebellion by Hashi Chakroborty.

Hamiduzzaman Khan, better known as a sculptor, had an amazing portrait Face done in simple gray and browns. The detail of the beauty of the face and the charm of the jewellery adorning the woman had all been included in deft strokes. Abdus Sattar's The Figure had poetic rhythm in the lines that brought in the standing figure, draped in layers of cloth and holding a bunch of crimson flowers. From the Nature by Abul Barek Alvi appeared to be like some aerial view of land and water masses, seen as green and white rectangles touched with white and black.

Red and Yellow by Rokeya Sultana brought in the vibrant gold and red colours of summer in the countryside. The mother and child theme, set in the tribal areas, by Ranjit Das had a fanciful play of colours and lines, with red and green dominating.

There was more delineation of the people from the Hill Tracts in Kanak Chanpa Chakma's A working day with dancing figures of the tribal men and women, brave in feathers and loin cloth.

A beautiful composition in simple strokes of beige, black and deep pink was Kuhu's The bath. A combination of mesmerising blues was seen in Farida Zaman's Dream in net, which brought in intermingling figures of boats, fish and human figures. Showkutazzaman's Flower was an equally exquisite composition taken from nature and executed in fine details.

The exhibition was a fine collection of our artists' works, as most Saju's displays tend to be.

Photo Courtesy: Saju Art Gallery