Paintings through poets' eyes

Photo: Star

Poetry and painting are somehow fundamentally connected. Both art forms often have a point of origin in a small epiphany, a fugitive intuition of significance –provide the artist/poet with the key or hinge which opens the hopeful box through strokes, lines and brush and metaphorical expression. Such is the inspiration of three poets-turned-painters and thus, their initiative named --paintings through poets' eye.

An art exhibition by three poet-cum-painters -- Dato Dr. Ahmad Kamal Abdullah (Malaysia), Germain Droogenbroodt (Belgium) and Aminur Rahman (Bangladesh) -- opened at Gallery Chitrak, Dhanmondi in Dhaka on February 5. Eminent artist Rafiqun Nabi attended the inaugural ceremony as chief guest while renowned Spain-based Bangladeshi artist Monirul Islam presided over the programme.

“According to Picasso, the children are the real artists as they are innocent in their artistic approach. They are bold in using colours. The artists' works are very simple in approach. They depicted nature, landscape and expressed their intuitive emotions through colours,” said Monirul Islam.

Dato Dr. Ahmad Kamal Abdullah's portrayal of nature and landscape evoke serenity. He also depicted a self-portrait and type of inner restlessness while Germain Droogenbroodt's works are minimalistic in presentation. He attached his poems with the paintings. Aminur Rahman's abstract and semi-abstract paintings have bold brush works with mature colour balance.

Following the inauguration of the exhibition, poets from several countries --Malaysia, Belgium and Bangladesh – recited their own poems. Apart from the three featured poets, Bangladeshi poets Asad Chowdhury, Hayat Saif, Reaz Ahmad, Shelley Naz and Malaysian poets Professor Arbak Othman, Raja Rajeswari Seetha Raman, Lily Siti Multatuliana and Dr. Fazilah Husin, among others, recited their poems at the event.