Realism is usually regarded as the commencing of modern art. This is due to its belief that daily chores of life and practical depiction of world are chief concerns of art. Theoretically, realism accepted the progressive aims of modernism, finding novel truths through the re-examination of traditional systems. Realism denies imaginative idealisation and replaces it with an intense observation of surroundings. Thus, realism in its wider sense has encompassed many art movements in different civilisations.
Realism was a movement in the early nineteenth century in France that asserted to represent people and their everyday reality based on precise observation. The artistic movement, "realism" must be distinguished from the word "realism"-the latter an aspect of most figurative arts throughout time. It challenged centuries of tradition which saw the uppermost art's desire to idealise pictorial forms and gallant subjects. In Bangladesh, realism has been practiced since the inception of our art movement in the early 1950s. After that artists transformed their modes of expression into varied genres of art. After independence, a number of painters started to expose their creativities through realism and thus Jamal Ahmed's name came to prominence during the mid '80s. After graduation from the Institute of Fine Arts (presently the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Dhaka), he developed himself by taking higher education from Poland and Japan. The educations assisted him to comprehend about the plunge deep into subject and explore novelty of the topic.
Over the several decades, Jamal has been successfully documenting Bengal's scenic beauty as well as nubile women in all their curvaceous beauty, gypsy women, oarsman, boatman, flood-affected people, bucolic panoramic view, riverine people, metropolis, bauls, mendicants, working class people and more. Pigeons, fishermen, disadvantaged people and their daily chores are recurrent themes in his paintings.
Space plays a very significant role for his paintings, which is the main splendour of his creations. He has a great ability to draw mass, volume and texture as well as he creates sensitive compositions which are outstanding. For an art aficionado, his paintings bring a new-fangled and eye-catching look, and provide the spectators a sense of great pleasure. Most of the times, his paintings have a great similarity to photograph which can be considered as a genre of photo-realism. As a celebrated painter, Jamal is a regular partygoer; consequently he frequently meets many people from different social status. He enthusiastically observes them for acquiring their traits and inner world. His painting brings real demonstration for his in-depth study on the subject. His drawings and sketches are lively and have the right kind of restraint. He knows where to stop---that is the core aspect of his paintings.
Smoothness is another noticeable feature in his works and his paintings are easily comprehensible because the subject's simplicity, malleable ground and subdued tone. From the commencing of his career, his prime concerns are transparent beauty of nature, people's ecstasy, bliss, longing, pain and yearning.
Besides painting of the rural life and its people, Jamal is an accomplished portrait painter. Realism is his forte; his acrylic based paintings depict the exact quality of drapery or the skin tone of a man or woman. He has achieved mastery in capturing the quality of light and shade. For a long time, it has been clearly observed that his calm and deeply meditative landscape alludes to harmony in nature. He has portrayed the Cox's Bazar sea beach and the poverty ridden people around the location, which come to his paintings from different angles. It has been clearly noticeable that the artist has an in-depth understanding of landscape. Some of his figural compositions convey a great sense of rapture. Many of his shadowy drawings (charcoal based) are lyrical and spontaneous. His sketches are powerful in their tone of lines and serenity. The charcoal sketches, in particular, are very lively and thought provoking. His intimate study of human beings and nature allows him to get to the core of his theme.
By means of Jamal's sweeping brush strokes and malleable textures, the canvas gets a vivacious and spirited look. He has conquered an enigmatic quality in his paintings that works on many levels from the visual to the subconscious. At the ongoing exhibition, the artist has used acrylic, pencil, charcoal, watercolour on paper and canvas. Observing his works critically, one gets the feeling that his acrylic follows the typical watercolour tonalities -- soft and seemingly transparent. Tranquility is one of the vital components in Jamal's works. The objects of his works are in a melancholic mood, which is repetitively focused on. The interplay of light and shade has been superbly featured in his works. At times, his figures look poignant and help us think about their experiences. The artist muses to display their everyday woes and bliss on his canvas.
Jamal's works on canvas reveal the celebration of triumph and broad-spaced vision. He gets pleasure by painting what moves his creative soul and enables him to translate an individual language through colour and figurative expression. His themes are always upholding the greatness of life. In the process, the viewer also gets to know the artist's individuality and mental state of that moment.
Jamal always chooses a certain language in order to explain the stories of his paintings lively. He has been enthusiastically studying movements of figures and arrangements of compositions for a long time. In this sense, the artist is very cautious about his composition and arrangement of figures.
The painter is recognised for his intrepid approach and he crosses great lengths to describe his topics.
Solitude and tranquility are two vital mechanisms in Jamal's works. The themes of his works are in a somber mood and their characteristics are highlighted. Lighting is a prominent feature in the works and the artist generally prefers luminous light. At times, his figures look moving and help us reflect on their experiences, ecstasy and despair. At the exhibition, his acrylic and water colours and drawings have varied tonal effects, detailing the focus on the subject. White, blue, red, emerald green, yellow and black are predominant aspects in his paintings. Scrupulous harmonising of light and shade is another noticeable feature in his works. Jamal's quiet and profoundly meditative landscape contains a symbolism that alludes to peace and hope in nature. The paintings appear more serene because of its lucid colours. He focuses his attention on impressive phenomena such as soft light and drizzle, which reflects his detailed study on landscape. His acrylic colour has varied tonal effects, detailing the focus. His works emerge in lively form.
