Page 44 - Art and Crafts of Bangladesh

PAINTING 41

semi-abstract styles in different forms. The international appearance and appeal of the
abstract style naturally attracted our artists the most and thus among the modern
European styles, abstraction was the style that was the most practiced. Influence of
Cubism and Surrealism can be observed from time to time and inspiration of
individual western artists can also be noticed. Most of the artists of the fifties went
through various stages and then finally settled to pure abstraction. Most of them were
attracted by Cubism and its associated forms in the intermediary periods. Moreover,
influence of various Expressionist modes or Constructivist styles can be noticed in the
works of some artists. Artists who settled with complete abstraction are Mohammad
Kibria, Aminul Islam, Abdur Razzaque, Debdas Chakraborty, Abdul Baset and many
others. Hamidur Rahman and Murtaja Baseer did not fix themselves to a particular
style; they kept roaming between various figurative and semi-abstract approaches and
complete abstraction. The powerful attraction of internationalism in this stage made
many of our leading artists indifferent towards indigenous background and
perspective. Nevertheless, the rich folk art of East Bengal appealed to quite a few
artists in many ways. Apart from senior artist Zainul Abedin, Safiuddin Ahmed, and
Quamrul Hassan, Rashid Choudhury and Qayyum Chowdhury of the fifties looked
towards folk art in an attempt to get inspiration. Rashid Choudhury and Qayyum
Chowdhury and in recent times, another artist from the fifties Murtaja Baseer, have
been carrying on with their attempt to apply folk tradition in the modern mode of art.
Generally, the fifties can be identified as the transitional period for the influence of
international art on our art and the manifestation of the signs of this influence.
Mohammad Kibria is one of the more senior artists of the fifties. He completed his
education from the Kolkata Art School and joined the other contemporary artists in
Dhaka. Kibria received advanced training in painting and printmaking from Japan
during the period of 1959-62. In the context of the practice of painting and
printmaking in Bangladesh, the artist is identified for the traits that are absolutely his
own. Through depiction of abstraction with colored lines and textures, Kibria has
created a world of his own, where secluded, tranquil and subdued manifestation of
imagination have combined with sharpened skills and advanced technical proficiency
of applying colors and creating textures (fig.1.22). Kibria’s artworks during the
primary stage contains the attempt to organize the picture plane in a two dimensional
structure and an attempt to integrate figures through binding them with geometric
shapes and lines. Despite the poetic impressions and romanticism at this stage, his
paintings express the urge of an all-consuming emptiness, disenchantment, and
loneliness. Here, the colors are depressed and cold; the figures are falling and giving
the hint of death. Chandrahata Ghora (Moonstruck Horse), Purnima (Full Moon),
Andha Darshanik (Blind Philosopher) are noteworthy artworks of this period. The
opportunity to go to Japan and receive long term training during the middle stage of
his development was particularly helpful for him. From this training he came to learn
the subtle deep meaning of art, the extension and composition of space, characteristic
diversity and technical expertise of printmaking and the multidimensional