Renowned artist Asem Ansari passes away
Renowned artist Asem Ansari passed away due to cardiac arrest at his residence in Mirpur, Dhaka, at around 9 pm on April 6. He was 72. His body was kept at the National Heart Foundation's mortuary on the night. He was buried at the Martyred Intellectuals Graveyard in Mirpur, in the morning today.
Asem Ansari was born on June 3, 1948, to a well-reputed family in Dhaka. He is the younger brother of BTV's renowned producer, Zia Ansari. He completed his BFA from the Department of Drawing and Painting, Govt College of Arts and Crafts in 1972. He also had a penchant for filmmaking and photography. In addition to his regular practice of painting, he was a brilliant illustrator. His two daughters currently live in the United States of America.
Asem Ansari rendered his imageries and artistic contemplations about human complexities into his canvases. He portrayed the subtle essence of life and literature, the saga of realism and surrealism and the romantic aura of mystique.
Evoking the aesthetic nuance and creative allusions of legends like Tagore, Jibanananda, Baudelaire, Picasso, Matisse, Paul Klee, Rothko, Arshile Gorky, Zainul, Quamrul, Kibria, The Beatles, Pink Floyd and Bob Dylan, Asem Ansari portrayed his paintings in a poetic style.
Admirers of Jibananda would truly excavate the cruxes of the poems Haye Chil, Aat Bochhor Ager Ekdin and Kuri Bochhor Por, in Asem's paintings.
The artist depicted the diverse facets of life and elements of nature in Bangladesh. His use of sober colours, aesthetic textures, tiny scribbles, lyrical compositions, lights, shades and some rare non-objectifying elements, together with thought-provoking subjects and presentations, showcase a harmony and serenity of Bengal's essence. Themes of romance and nostalgia reign supreme in his works, Shower in the green moon shadow and Like a Deja vu!!
His paintings with also speak of the serenading fallen leaves and the music of untainted nature.
"My works are an expression of experience, a mixture of visual and intellectual exercise on understanding life. I am keen on representing my surroundings, where I come from, and where I belong to, as it identifies my paintings," the artist once said. "The elements come from rural Bangladesh like clay hut, muddy courtyard, bamboo fences, water, boat, human and animal. In many of my paintings, the moon plays an important role-- sometimes romantic, sometimes cosmic, and at other times, depicting the eternity."
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