Giants of Indian-Bangladeshi prints under one roof

Marvellous prints on display at Galleri Kaya in Uttara

Published : Friday, 28 September, 2018 at 12:00 AM Count : 1969

Printmaking is strenuous, stimulating and stirring. It offers tremendous outcome with an opportunity for rethinking, reexamining and reworking. In the sub-continent, the practice of printmaking received vast popularity when the Kala Bhavan was established by the Tagore family in the beginning of the 19th century. The family previously established "Bichitra Club", where new styles and techniques of printmaking were explored.

However, the current mega prints' show at Galleri Kaya carries a distinct trait because of some high ranking Indian printmakers' attention-grabbing works with several Bangladeshi technically advanced printmakers' works.

Indian Printmakers

At the mega show MF Husain's two prints denote a number of archetypal horses with vigorous movements. The iconic Indian painter mingled western modernity with Indian folk style -- focusing on vibrant colours, bold curves, dynamic movements (human figures and animals) and figurative compositions. The painter had a great fascination for portraying myths, political circumstances and historic events. Fragmentation is a recurring trait in his prints. The maestro was deeply interested in cubism as well. Cubism gained popularity in India through his adroit hands. Some of his prints also reflect his personal assessment of religious beliefs.

Haren Das's etching portrays a carnival of a pastoral area, where villagers are gleefully assembled in a shiny moonlit night. Lighting is the noticeable feature in the print and the artist generally preferred glowing light and mystifying setting. Das observed rural life not only with his own eyes, but also with his heart. He observed villagers' daily chores and the surroundings, and lost himself in the rural setting. He also portrayed peaceful and scenic beauty of rural Bengal.

Somnath Hore's two lithographs feature parts of human forms, bones, unshaped forms, slits and holes and the backdrop is in blood-red shade. Semi nudes, animals and human figures in varied dispositions have created a unique style for his works. His prints also feature the downtrodden, exploited particularly the disadvantaged community and their destitution and struggles. He reflected on their sufferings in his works.

K.G. Subramanyan's flexibility of expression and richness of visual language evolve from the diverse materials. He has used many registers of language to slide from high seriousness to irony, celebration to subversion, descriptive rendering to lyrical evocation, fact to metaphor, and from real to surreal with the ingenuous and consummate craftsmanship coupled with alertness. His two prints at the exhibition coloured black and white projects human apparently in confusion and disarray. The first one is an example of dexterous composition. At least two human figures can be identified in the work with dubious looks that denote distorted and heinous psyche. In the work there are various shapes that are divided into alternating black and white. Some of them having 'V' shaped black and white lines resemble road signs for movement. Their role in the work might be that of a symbol for indecisive and insecure pace of modern lives.

Amitava Banerjee's (etching) has portrayed a woman in the background of a damp and salt contaminated wall. The woman is not beautiful in the real sense, but the lady is extremely sensuous and attractive. The face is long and the eyes are beautifully drawn which carry the signature-mark of a traditional Indian women. His use of colours, impact of light and shade, unity of form and emotions are meticulously etched on the paper.

Sanat Kar is one of the noted figures in Indian printmaking heritage. His etching has symbolically projected the social and political dilemmas with his evocative and sensual lines, and also incorporated several forms of lamenting eyes and sharp nails. The lines are lyrical, expressive and animated -- denoting human figures, visage and limbs. Sometimes his characters appear witty and refer to the social anomalies in a humorous manner. Changes in the society, social injustice, crime, superstition, poverty and political instability have appeared in his works symbolically and thoughtfully.

Dipak Banerjee's etching has appeared at the exhibition with symmetric and geometric patterns along with some mystical symbols, which give a devotional aura. The composition plunges into impressions of Indian miniature painting. The etching shows a free flow of lines and forms marked with spirituality.

Ganesh Haloi's keen aptitude is about drawing the philosophical aspect of nature, volume and colour and to create sensitive lyrical compositions. His use of colours is thin, expressive and nostalgic. Once, the writer interviewed him in a winter morning in 2013 at Dhaka Club. In that occasion he asserted that nature has always been his greatest source of inspiration. He always tries to communicate with nature.

Suhas Roy's etching denotes a portrait which captures an aged visage with eloquent features and the background is huge black. The portrait is a lonely replica of a contemporary consciousness. It also carries melancholic grace, elegance and simplicity with a dreamlike world that can oscillate between sensuality and innocence.

Lalu Prashad Shaw is well-known as a printmaker and a painter. His etching at the show is pure abstract and has been dominated by black and white. The strong and coarse lines are interwoven and the lower part of the etching is full of murkiness. The artist is equally at ease with hard-edge abstraction and period-style figuration.

Sunil Das, one of India's significant post-modernist painters who rose to prominence for limning different types of horses. At the exhibition, his etched horse has its front hoofs in the air. Scribble-based sharp lines also feature in the print. He has meticulously etched the front side of the horse which is in gray and black. The eyes are focused at the front. His spontaneous lines capture the speed, power and energy of the vigorous animal. They became symbolic of the energy, aggression and power of modern times and of his own untamed youthful spirit and a sense of liberty.

Manu Parekh's single piece denotes some organic forms with intangible elements. His print provokes viewers to take notice of the world around them through the sentiment, depression and agony which have been expressed through the topic of his etching. Some lines are diagonal and the elements which he has used in the etching, has a cohesive relation.

Niranjan Prodhan has etched three flower vases with long skinny stems in the mode of stylistic semi-cubism. He has simply used black and white and the print prompts us to reminisce many aspects of life.

Aditya Basak's etching shows three featherless cocks moving on a round shaped map, which has the backdrop in black. The print focuses on muted, subdued tones which unfold struggle for existence and loneliness. Reality and imagination-both have been impeccably mirrored and the printmaker has an allure for delusion and fragments of the imagination. His print is full of illusions which depict the powerful and dark imagery. The management of light and shade give his print a look of ambiguity and unreality.

Bimal Kundu's etching is stunning for its structural formation of the visage and its sophisticated hues and at a closer look, the semi-realistic composition tells its own story, which has been greatly influenced by semi-realism in cubist style.

Mannoj Dutta's etching has been engrossed by a bunch of flowers, which have grown from a tree and is in a flower vase. His very picturesque and appealing natural observation is profoundly embedded in psyche and his print has been created spontaneously by his accomplished hands. He uses close-up views of the branches of trees containing patches of flowers. Losing himself in the natural world, the artist takes theme from this affluent source and plays with shades and textures on print.

Atul Dodiya's two pieces are on display---one is etching and another is lithograph. They have demonstrated a single nude female figure in the setting of a cloudy sky and a tiny tree emblematically appears. Its dark black lines are also prominent with different hues. Another of his prints has depicted some almost rectangular based cactus forms in different sizes and a single figure. The multidimensional artist has produced a number of styles in different mediums, and flawlessly interwoven the prehistoric elements, myths, folklore, and popular culture of India. Dodiya mainly came to prominence in the early 1990s for his hyperrealist delineations of the middle-class life in Mumbai. Few years ago, Dodiya visited Dhaka and I came across him in a dinner at Baridhara and came to know that the painter has great penchant for the city---Mumbai where he was born and raised, its different sorts of stimulating cultural and social juxtapositions make him ponder extensively.

Pradip Maitra's etching is transparent yet mystic. He has simply etched two leafs in separate ambiance where inner structures of leafs are lucidly apparent. He has used economical colours but he goes to the details of the subject, which helps viewers providing an understanding between existence and non-existence.

Atin Basak's etching shows a balance between lucidity and elegance, the personal and the impersonal vision where a large sized shrimp is placed on a human face's bone. He explores the thin control lines that lie between animate and inanimate world. The play of light and shade, and depiction of varied colours are noticeable in his etching.

Srikanta Paul's etching at the show is very detailed, exquisite and he elaborates the theme, which draws from history, rituals and mythology. The figure in his print bears marks of the emotional repercussion of the happenings, as have been etched on the face. He has used it in a bold and experimental manner to deliver a sensitive appeal.

Bangladeshi Printmakers

Safiuddin Ahmed is an idol for purist artists. Every single piece of his prints is labour intensive. He always searched for perfection in every piece and the labour continued until he was satisfied. His single print at the show demonstrates an aged human being surrounded by many eyes. The visage looks immobile and one can easily detect a unique character with a weird face. Black is the predominant aspect in most of his paintings and prints. During his lifetime the painter used to experiment with this particular colour and its mysterious tones, tenors and layers. He made use of varied geometrical patterns and shapes of varied forms as symbolic modes of expressions. Line is other essential part of his artworks, which have created a distinct language, where one can learn about his perseverance, longing and devotion to art.

Mohammad Kibria meticulously blended the essential elements of both mediums-paintings and prints. In his single print at the exhibition, one feels the lament of a lonely soul, an underlying sorrow and the artist's deepest devotion to Language Movement. The print also denotes a big flat space with uneven texture. The print is very delicate, prolonged and technique based. Due to the influence of his Japanese printmaker guru Hideo Hagiwara, the work reflects elements of Japanese subtlety and technique. Kibria had simplified and enhanced the abstract image that constructs a visual reference to his reminiscences, imaginings and thoughts.

Murtaja Baseer is considered a distinct and unique personality in the art milieu of this country for his lucid thought process, strong and meticulous drawings, balanced use of colours and a strong social commitment. His quest has always motivated him to deliver new themes, styles and techniques in a constant pursuit through tests and trials. With the progress of an illustrious career, Baseer has gradually transformed his working style into abstract realism. He never draws a single line without a logical explanation. Like other contemporary artists of his time or later generations, his position remains at the top. At the exhibition, Baseer's two linocuts and one aquatint reveal to art lovers three different anecdotes. Baseer's one famous linocut "Bloody 21st", portrays the students' processions of the language movement demanding Bangla be made the state language of this country. And the Pakistani autocratic rulers shot down the processions which have been obviously articulated on the print. The piece has captured those moments so well that it has become a symbol of the spirit of the language movement.

Baseer's another piece of aquatint "Epitaph", symbolically depicts the martyrs' souls. Soul is symbol of purity, carries an untainted feeling and intuition of the celestial body. Oval, round forms and varied subdued colours are the predominant features in the print. The print's mode of expression is pure abstraction.

Baseer's "Shoeshine Boy" denotes a teenage boy, who carries a box in his hand while another hand holds a shoe-brush. He has attired himself in a pale t-shirt and half pant and has no sandals in his legs but the sad part is that the lad polishes others' shoes from day to dawn.

Rafiqun Nabi usually delightfully projects the serene ambience of nature---representing rural Bengal and sometimes he focuses on semi-urban settings. Sharp shadows and melting tones give his creations a transcendental appeal. At the exhibition, Nabi's green coloured woodcut denotes an open window where one can see a sky with a hazy sun. Two pigeons leisurely sit on the frame of the window-----symbolizing liberty and the painter has chosen a certain language for describing the story. The print is seemingly time-consuming and the artist goes to great lengths to detail his subject.

Monirul Islam, one of the most influential artists of the twentieth century Bangladeshi art, enjoys an outstanding career. His individual stylistic innovations and technical phenomenon fundamentally altered the concept of pure abstraction and affected the art of next generations of many younger painters in the country. This is undeniably true that he has introduced a new language and technique for printmaking in our country. He has explored particularly the mediums----- etching and aquatint and they have emerged with refreshing looks through his skilled hands. His specialties are delicate lines and the balance between use of space and composition.

Mahmudul Haque's piece (at the exhibition) can be explained in many ways where one can find the touch of mysticism and some can get the taste of harmonization. His mode of expression has been considered to be pure abstract expressionism. In his print, one can comprehend that he also enjoys working with varied symbols, tiny forms and varied shapes of forms, which bring about a splendid synchronization. In the print, his world of abstract is abstract in totality as the spectator is given the freedom of interpretation. Hidden, semi-hidden and amorphous forms, which can be found in nature, are also apparent in the print.

Abul Barq Alvi's litho shows a formal arrangement with forms and compositions, as has been clearly observed. He draws inspiration from both tainted and untainted nature. His fragmental composition appears blurred and is engrossed with geometrical forms which create a kaleidoscopic vision.

Shahabuddin Ahmed's two lithographs at the exhibition depict a man moving forward. The pale backdrop seems appealing. But the movement of the figure denotes the subject's pain and struggle. The artist perpetually focuses on the strength and power of the people of Bengal. He always tries to highlight the gallantry of our freedom fighters and their patriotism. He draws fearless figures and their bold movements.

Ratan Majumdar's woodcut articulates a still life relating to synchronization among bottle, glass and ashtray on geometric pattern based a table. The printmaker confines his prints to black and white. His prints also focus on urban alienation which combines nuanced lines with the simplicity of black and white hues. His signature style now efficaciously provokes a sense of reminiscence and longing.

Anisuzzaman has now become one of the significant printmakers in our country and his work zooms in on urban architecture, construction of human accommodation, urban constructions, and a city's structural design. His single serigraph at the show which is closely related to geometrical and structural elements can easily sensitize the onlooker about his passion for architecture. The print is technique-oriented and has a great touch of aestheticism.

Mohammad Rokonuzzaman's single etching has a watercolour effect. Moreover, he emphasises on simple articulation and use of space. His prints usually have been engrossed with bicycles in black and white. The image has several old rusted bicycles leaning on each other.

Nagarbasi Barman's prints overwhelmingly seem obsessed with fish, boat, fishing nets and hooks, riverine life and their relationship with humans and bucolic nature. Born and raised on the banks of the Buriganga river, Barman has attempted to create an atmosphere that defines the lives of fishermen. The use of shadowy and darker tones depicts the unchanging lives of fishermen.

Ruhul Amin Tarek's print is considered to be pure realistic and his work zooms in on self-realisation, self-thinking process and self-observation. Most of his works are engrossed with a single figure, which is he himself in varied movements. His prime aim is to highlight the movements of human body and also to emphasise the inner struggle and torment of human beings.

The exhibition was inaugurated on September 21, and will continue till October 5.