Gifted
painter Sultan Ishtiaque has an atelier at Pallavi, Mirpur in the city.
Having ample space, the studio consists of several rooms. He has held
several solo exhibitions and group exhibitions in the country and abroad
over the years and the paintings have originated from the studio.
Sultan is the student of the Department of Drawing and Painting, Faculty
of Fine Arts, University of Dhaka.
Sultan emotionally paints the Old
Dhaka and its narrow and congested road, the adjacent ambiance of
dockyards. The massiveness of dockyards and its vibes of light and
shadow ponder him to focus on the subject. The labourious and diverse
activities in dockyards have been deeply imprinted in his mind.
Dockyards employ great number of skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled
labours in an unhygienic environment. The life is very harsh and
unpleasant there and the toiler's daily chores, ecstasies, anguishes and
dreams can also be discerned in his works. He prefers to paint the
people he knows. Therefore his neighboring subject is his first, and
favourite field of investigation. He never finds it a problem to be-
treated as a storyteller of a humanistic tradition, classical in his
painting approach, as long as it shows the compassion and the emotions
he experiences when painting his subjects.
Sultan
feels that the studio is also a recreational and spiritual place for
him. The accommodation helps him to rediscover and reconsider his
thinking process, subject matter and procedure of application.
"Intelligence, perception and sensibility are three ingredients for a
good quality painting. If you want to plunge these in your art you
should deeply ponder on your work. I feel a quiet place is very vital
for creating something novel and refreshing," the painter said
The
paintings of different sizes in varied mediums (included oil, acrylic ,
watercolour and mixed mediums) are stored in wooden shelves at different
corners of his spacious studio. His studio is south facing and roomy.
It's a well-maintained and clean place. There is a wooden shelf where he
keeps colour tubes, brush, spatula, pencil, pastel and other
accessories. There is a study room attached to the studio with a shelf
full of rare books on art, literature, history, anthropology,
architecture and more. The painter is well informed about contemporary
art trends.
"My studio is a space for me where I think about my work
plan. I felt that the studio plays a vital role in a painter's life. My
studio provides all that. The space not only helps me to focus on my
work, but also inspires me to think independently," said Sultan.
Sultan
elaborately portrays the ship building process, drudgers engrossed with
works, upside down ships and cargos under repair, scrap metals of ships
scattered on the ground and plying ships on docks. He also portrays
small and big boats in all their possible varieties as well as repairing
and maintenance activities around the banks of the rivers. Sultan also
closely scrutinises the metropolis' unplanned urbanisation, ruined
richness of heritage, changing socio-political and economic conditions.
For deeper inspiration and bringing variation in his thematic works, the
artist has passionately visited different parts of Old Dhaka and other
parts of the country. Sultan fervently paints Old Dhaka with its vibrant
activities, downtrodden people and their daily chores, rickshaw
pullers, narrow alleys, condensed habitations, wrecked buildings,
cluttered wires, scattered across roads, jam-packed atmosphere, etc. He
does not draw any single figure; he depicts people in masses in
different approaches and aided by sufferings, torments, bliss and
ecstasies.
