Fond memories

Arup Kumar Roy speaks at the programme.

Alliance Française de Dhaka organised an open discussion on the life and works of the late artist Mohammad Fokhrul Islam on July 20 at La Galerie of this cultural centre in Dhanmondi, Dhaka.
The discussants included artists, art lovers, journalists and friends, family members of Fokhrul Islam. They reminisced on the artist at the commemorative programme.
Jérôme Charbonneau, deputy director of Alliance Française de Dhaka said, “Fokhrul Islam was an exceptionally talented artist. His unexpected demise was a great loss for Bangladeshi art. He is highly praised for his unique style and technique.”
Liaquat Ali Khan, an art enthusiast said, “Fokhrul was an outspoken and patriotic person. He was also a man of passion and determination. He was an experimental painter and his works carried a unique touch.”
About the artist, Arup Kumar Roy, treasurer of Alliance Française de Dhaka expressed, “Fokhrul Islam was a brilliant artist. He was a person with unquestionable rectitude, and he was uncompromising against all he considered unethical.”
As part of a tribute to the artist, a solo painting exhibition titled “Shadows and Light” is now on at Alliance Française de Dhaka. About 30 paintings by the late artist are on display. The collection includes some of his previously unseen paintings.
Fokhrul was born in 1964 in Dhaka. He completed MFA from the Department of Ceramics, Institute of Fine Arts (now Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Dhaka) in 1988. He went to China, on a three-year scholarship from the Chinese Government, and studied at the Central Institute of Arts and Crafts, Beijing. He received many awards for his outstanding contribution to Bangladeshi art. Fokhrul had exhibited in India, Pakistan, China, Japan, France and Italy.