A print by the artist. Safiuddin (inset)

Bengal Gallery of Fine Arts is holding a retrospective of master artist Safiuddin Ahmed. Titled “The Limitless Luminosity of Art”, the show opens tomorrow (November 26) and will be divided into two instalments.
The first instalment, held from November 26 to December 9, will feature the artist's prints. His drawings and paintings will be displayed at the second instalment of the exhibition, which is to be held from December 10 to December 23.
Safiuddin Ahmed is the senior-most artist in Bangladesh. He was born in Kolkata (Calcutta) in 1922 and migrated to Dhaka after Partition (1947). He was a student of Calcutta Government School of Art and graduated from the institute in 1942. After a break from art, he went to Central School of Arts and Crafts in London to pursue higher education in etching and engraving.
He was one of the founders of Dacca (now Dhaka) Art College. From 1948 to 1979, he served as head of the department of Printmaking at the institution.
Safiuddin is particularly known for his woodcut engraving. He devotes much time to a single piece of work, searching for perfection.
Safiuddin's themes include panorama, rural life, landscapes, memories of 1971, Language Movement, flood and other natural calamities etc. His immense contribution to contemporary Bangladeshi art has earned him international acclaim. He received several prestigious awards including Ekushey Padak, Shadinota Padak and more.
Due to his advanced age and fragile health, the painter is now bedridden and detached from the creative world.
Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith will inaugurate the first instalment of the exhibition. Eminent educationist Professor Zillur Rahman Siddiqui and artist Qayyum Chowdhury will be present as special guests.