<i>A mature and meaningful venture</i>

A collage of works by the artists

The group of over-fifties artists, which includes Nasreen Begum, Jamal Ahmed, Kuhu and others, are having their vibrant display of paintings, sculpture pieces and prints with a gusto. Many of them are now absorbed in commercial art out of compulsion to make a living which free-lancing does not always permit. But they have all been working on fine arts, off and on, and after decades they got together like some merry reunion calling themselves “10+2 souls” in the current exhibition at Shilpangan.
Many of the art works have much more depth than the run of the mill items that the experimenting younger artists come up with, wrapped with much aplomb. The mature artists have had the guidance and inspiration of the best of the masters of the then Art College and are now even Associate Professors like the flamboyant Jamal Ahmed or cool and collected Nasreen Begum. Kuhu has been a runaway hit with art lovers for decades now, while others have returned from sojourns overseas -- for this moment of the successful joint venture.
Far from being boastful the dozen artists have presented artworks -- which bring in realism, symbolism, oriental art, post-modernism, impressionism and a whole range of stylistic and thematic variety. If variation is the soul of a joint display, this is where the onlooker will glean much experience and pleasure, and perhaps even be tempted to buy, despite the present astronomical prices of art works
This is surely a world away from the floods, famines and other natural disasters that continue to wreak havoc over Bangladesh. Subtle and sober in speech, the artists spoke of their experience and ideas with The Daily Star over tea in the gallery. They do not presume much and even underplay their prowess, specially the successful ones who know that they have “miles to go” before they can reach the stature of the master painters like Mohammed Kibria or Safiuddin Ahmed.
They admit their knowledge has been taken from books, visits to galleries and repeated labour over their sketchbooks. They touch on their outdoor and indoor exercise in drawing, painting, print-making and sculpture. Their lives may have included some struggle and strife at the outset, when mushrooming galleries were not prevalent, as they are today in Dhaka.
They are a bright-eyed group of artists, who still enjoy success and satisfaction in the art sphere. Local and overseas recognition have not made them blasé and nor has commercial art spoilt their talent, imagination or the inspiration that egg them on to concentrate on visual art.
The galaxy of the artists in the meaningful venture include Jamal Ahmed, Kuhu, Nasreen Begum, Mohammad Eunus, Mujibur Rahman, Jalaluddin, Mamun Kaiser, Alamgir, Shammy, Mina, Rezaul Haque and Mostafizul Haque.
The display ends on January 12.