Dwip Gallery in Lalmatia opened its doors to the second exhibition of its kind, “Miniscope 2”, on April 26. Flaunting creative gateways for diverse artists from both Bangladesh and India, it is currently hosting miniature and endearing artworks.
When I was merely three, my mother, being a history major and a sibling to freedom fighters, took it upon herself to ingrain the Liberation War and the birth of Bangladesh into my mind. As a result, I grew up learning about “Shangshaptak”, the legendary sculpture representing the spirit of our Liberation War, by the renowned sculptor Hamiduzzaman Khan. I felt like I had hit the jackpot when I got the opportunity to meet him and learn from him during my third semester of the Bachelor of Architecture (BArch) programme. Finally, 11 years later, I experienced an exhibition dedicated entirely to him.
The topographic beauty of Bangladesh owes a debt to its waterbodies. Being a delta embellished with rivers, natural canals, wetlands, lakes, swamps, ponds, and fountains that flow into the Bay of Bengal in the south, the beauty of our land knows no bounds. The spirit of water flows through the veins of Bangladeshi people and the survival of the entire nation revolves around the waterbodies. Thus, our way of life, livelihood, and pretty much everything is centred around water. These ever-familiar images of rural Bangladesh and its people are powerfully portrayed on artist Zannat Keya’s canvases.
Artist Al-Akhir Sarker’s solo art exhibition “Satoborsher Dhaka” — a visual journal of our beloved Dhaka city and its transformation over the past few centuries — is underway at Bhumi Art Gallery in association with Shilpangan. Inaugurated yesterday, the ceremony was attended by the trustee of the Liberation War Museum and writer Mofidul Haque as the chief guest, and prominent architect Mustapha Khalid Palash as the special guest. The exhibition is dedicated to Foyez Ahmed, a Bikrampur-born legendary journalist, who grew up in Dhaka. Ahmed held onto the memoir of the city and its changes while becoming a pioneer of art galleries in Dhaka himself.
Growing up, I have read plenty of fairy tales, imagining those storied multiverses vividly. The colours and textures I visualised and sensed while reading those tales existed only in my mind. That was until I entered Bhumi Art Gallery last Sunday — the venue where “Epic Journey of a Migratory Bird”, the second solo painting exhibition by Syed Golam Dastagir, is on display.
Enakkhi Saha Roy, Ishrat Parveen Leena, and Ranjana Sayeed — a trio of visual artists driven by their love and passion for visual arts — are practicing artists whose second group exhibition, titled “Bindu”, is being hosted at Bhumi Art Gallery in Lalmatia. The inauguration event of the art exhibition took place on December 20, where painter Professor Emeritus Rafiqun Nabi graced the event as the chief guest. The exhibition was underway after the inaugural event consisting of performances of musicians from various genres.
Most of the artworks currently adorning the walls of Gallery Chitrak were created between 2016 and 2024. The exhibition features 70 pieces, including acrylic, oil, and watercolour paintings, etchings, drawings, charcoal works, and some of his iconic graphic designs for BTV.
Reaching the 3rd level of Bengal Shilpalay, the first art piece greeting me in the lift lobby with its unique appearance was "Ria Moni", a tower constructed with children's toys. Created by Afsana Sharmin, this sculpture is a memorial for the six-year-old Riya Gope, who was shot dead on her apartment's rooftop during the Student Against Discrimination (SAD) Movement, leaving her family devastated. An intimidating installation with bamboo, sharp objects, water lilies, and severed doll parts is her way of visualising the movement.
The inauguration of “Inward Gaze”, the first solo art exhibition of Syeda Asma Akber took place at the capital’s Gallery Chitrak, Dhanmondi yesterday (February 24). The event was graced by the presence of cartoonist Professor Rafiqun Nabi as the chairperson, famous artist Monirul Islam and Professor Nisar Hossain, Dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts at the University of Dhaka as special guests.
Shilpangan, a contemporary art gallery in the capital held the opening ceremony of “Kauthopokauthon”, the fourth solo exhibition by artist Samar Majumder on February 16. The event was inaugurated by the writer, researcher, and trustee of the Liberation Museum, Mofidul Hoque. Writer and art critic, Prof Moinuddin Khaled attended the event as the special guest. Following the cordial speeches regarding the artist, the exhibition was initiated.
"Duality" is an artistic collaboration between Salma Zakia Bristy and her son, Mashrafi Aveen. Each mother shares a unique story with her child, and Bristy is no exception. A visual artist and mother of two, her younger son Aveen has Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) with ADHD personality traits, as diagnosed by doctors when he was 18 months old.
One winter evening in January, I found myself at the Kala Kendra Gallery in Lalmatia, Dhaka. Currently hosting a group art exhibition, Kala Kendra presents “Jogsutro”, featuring 15 Bangladeshi artists who have returned after completing their studies at Rabindra Bharati University.
The group art exhibition, titled “Breath”, has recently featured 17 core artists and four guest artists from across the country. As part of the collective journey, the Art Bangla Foundation gallery has been adorned with colourful paintings by the talented artists, most of which are smaller in size and painted with acrylic colours.
At Alliance Francaise de Dhaka (AFD), a gallery brims with the seamless integration of poetry and paintings, each element complementing the other in a harmonious blend. One can easily get lost in the artistic world that Reza Asad Al Huda Anupam has created for his second solo exhibition “Poetrimage”, the opening of which took place at AFD yesterday.
Bengal Shilpalay inaugurated "Quarantine", a solo art exhibition by Mahbubur Rahman, on October 13. The entire gallery has been internally reconfigured to captivate visitors. It features partitions that divide the space for different types of art.
Novera Ahmed is known to me as ‘Rani khala’, and I hold her in tremendous respect as my aunt. She was a trailblazer, unafraid to pursue her dreams regardless of societal expectations. As an artist, I do feel the weight of comparison, but she exists on a different plane.
Our recent visit to Bengal Shilpalay on the closing day of “Bangladesher Lokoshilpo: Chitrito Mritshilpo” took both my mother and me back to our cherished childhood.
The “Urban Construction” series portrayed the components of cityscapes in the most minimalistic forms. “Spiritual Journey” illustrates silhouettes of a person in different poses, while “Portraying a Farmer Life” depicts the importance of farmers in our economy.
