Art

Colours of Celebration

Fayza Haq

Along with the other traditional gaiety that surrounds Durga Puja, 26 artists sat all day in a camp, recently, doing paintings according to their individual tastes and motivations. These pieces marking the celebration, done with buoyant colours, now hang at Kaya Gallery. The colours of the paintings mark the joy of autumn. This "puja" is an event that touches all aspects of our existence and the artists, irrespective of their creed, have joined in the festival. Art and religion have been combined on one platform bringing in folk, abstract and semi-abstract on 31 canvases.

Tarun Ghosh, Acrylic on Paper	Goutam Chakraborty, Acrylic on Canvas	Pradip Kumar Chakraborty, Acrylic on Canvas

Abdus Shakoor Shah has brought in his traditional depiction of women's faces based on the myths of Mymensingh. The traditional folk depiction is of the face bearing a third eye on the forehead and a white and black bird is perched on a woman's hair. Elements of jewellery adorn the ears, nose and neck.

Kalidas Karmakar brings in face in his sweeps of brown with a thick brush of white going through the work. The entire work bears a greyish tone, with touches of red, yellow and black. Hashem Khan uses his usual dramatic splashes of yellow, blue and red with patches of white and black introducing an abstract piece bearing three eyes done with quick strokes, keeping in mind the Durga "puja" festival.

An economy of colours is found in Nasreen Begum's work. Variations of Indian red and black usher in the crown and necklace of the neatly painted goddess with her cascading hair. The artist's fondness for the cactus image is seen in the depiction of the ears. Kanak Chanpa Chakma has stuck to her ethnic depiction, with the introduction of the flicker of the lamplight in the backdrop. Here too vermilion abounds, with touches of subtle yellow in the hair and the lamplights.

Farida Zaman too has stuck to her characteristic riverside woman in a sari, with flower buds, waves and fishing nets merged in the background. This is done entirely in shades of blue and orange, with dots, lines and wriggling lines completing the image. Rokeya Sultana's work has splashes of variations of orange and red, merging into one another. Three eyes are introduced in thick black outlines and the rest is left to the imagination.

The figure of a goddess with many hands, and a profusion of jewellery, depicted in minute traditional details are seen in Samarjit Roy Chowdhury's acrylic work. This is all awash with blues and oranges. Delicate black lines introduce the geometrical details of rectangles and triangles, while a mass of black brings in the hair. The happiness, hope and joy a new bride is seen in Goutam Chakrabarty's acrylic work. The abundance of red, orange and yellow stand for happiness while the latticed green brings in the bamboo walls of village homes. Biren Shome's semi abstract work, with delicate lines for the facial features and the jewellery, done in swirls of orange, white and blue is captivating indeed.

Torun Ghosh too, works on the subject of a goddess. The clothes, jewellery and flowing black hair dominate the work. Nagarbashi Barman has a welcome variation of a boat presented in a cubistic way. Cubes of mustard green, pinks and blue fill the backdrop and the forefront. Md. Mayezuddin's painting brings in fragments of figures seen at different angles and in varied positions. Anukul Chandra Mojumdar's acrylic on canvas has suggestions of faces in variations of pink. Elements of human limbs and details of faces fill the background in light, fantastic lines and splashes.

Shohag Parvez paints large boats being manipulated by toiling sailors. Delicate outlines bring in the human figures, while splashes of colours introduce the clothes. The piling clouds and the boats are worked on in details bringing in a fascinating image of fishermen's work.

Clockwise: Md. Safin Omar, Acrylic on Canvas; Nazia Andalib Preema, Acrylic on Canvas; Kalidas Karmakar, Acrylic on Canvas and Shawon Akand, Acrylic on Canvas

Bishwajit Goswami presents a viewer looking on at the "puja" celebration. Unlike the other printings it does not have the profusion of bright reds. Andaleeb Prema has a seated figure in variations of brown and red. The backdrop is a mixture of black and red with touches of green and blue.

Kazi Rakib has a face with three eyes, done in black and white, with touches of saffron splashes. A goddess in black, with many hands and the vanquished enemy at the feet are shown in Shahid Kazi's work. Here black and white dominate, with only flecks of red.

The exhibition depicted well some of the cultural roots of Bangladesh.

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