Page 45 - Art and Crafts of Bangladesh

42 ART AND CRAFTS

manifestation of emotion. Kibria came to be more attracted to the composition of the
picture plane and the pure joy of colors, lines and textures rather than the depiction of
objects. In Abstract Expressionism, the then very popular style in the western world,
he observed a style of art that was parallel to his own. However, ‘Action Painting’ or
pure geometry did not appeal to him; Kibria was never inclined to completely abandon
life and nature. Thus, his imagination blossoms and spreads its branches with life as
its base; his forms and structures hint at natural experiences, they are full of life and
can be felt by the senses. Kibria has added to painting and printmaking of Bangladesh
a high degree of technical proficiency on the one hand and a combination of subtle
sensitivity and beauty with proficiency on the other. Throughout the long period of his
loyalty to abstraction inconspicuous changes continued to take place within him. The
gradual brightening of the glow of his colors, gradual movement from opacity to
transparency, greater inclination towards organic shapes instead of the geometric–
these and other tendencies can be identified in this case. However, his fundamental
characteristics do not change all that much– his theme remains tranquil and subtle, his
paintings create a calm apathy at a distance from the commotion of the immediacy of
life. Nevertheless, his paintings contain a human appeal in its compassionate
representation and subtle inner meaning. The language of his painting creates an
attraction for feelings that are perceivable by the senses through its dispersed meaning,
rhetoric and imagery.
Aminul Islam is one of the most senior students of the Art Institute of Dhaka and one
of the distinguished leading artists of the fifties. A fundamental trait of Aminul Islam’s
artistic temperament is the tendency to practice and experiment with various types,
techniques and media of art. Aminul Islam was the first to go overseas for higher
education with a government scholarship; he received education in Florence, Italy
from1953-56. After coming back, he participated in several group exhibitions at home
and abroad and moreover, he organized seven solo exhibitions during the period of
1956-1971. Aminul Islam was drawn towards leftist politics in his youth and a
conscious social obligation can be noticed in his works during the initial stage. This
consciousness is apparent in the naming of Dream of Fishermen, Victims, Hawker and
other artworks. In this stage, he divided the picture plane in geometric shapes, arranged
the figures in a slightly Cubist manner, used distinct and deep geometric outlines. What
Aminul Islam became most conscious of through his connection with the west was the
freedom of lines, colors and shapes from the limitations of representing objects. The
boundless freedom of modern western art inspired him to creating images unfettered
by constraints of representations and it can be said that this inclination remained
permanently as the fundamental tendency of his art practice. At the same time, many
philosophical inquiries regarding human life and the cosmos caused him to
contemplate; he attempted to create an explanation of these inquiries within the
boundaries of art– thus his exploration though various experimentation continued. He
felt the essence of art within abstraction; nevertheless, figures sometimes return,
sometimes broken mirrors are used, sometimes collage is used. The naming of his