Page 72 - Art and Crafts of Bangladesh

PAINTING 69

due to the characteristic lack of distinction of contemporary art, it is not possible to
keep this discussion limited within the boundaries of painting from the beginning of
the nineties. Instead of that, those painters are discussed who are overall noteworthy
and promising and whose works are mainly related to painting even though they are
of a mixed nature. Those who are exclusively sculptors or printmakers naturally
remain beyond the scope of this discussion.
Among the artists who have worked mainly as painters and those who worked in the
various mixed presentations related to painting from the onset of the nineties are
Abdus Shakoor Shah (1947-), Kanak Chanpa (1963-), Mahbubur Rahman (1969-),
Tayeba Begum Lipi (1969-), Ashok Karmaker (1963-), Sulekha Chaudhury (1972-),
Tasadduk Hossain Dulu (1971-) and Ronni Ahmmed (1971-) may be considered as
notable. Apart from that, among those who have emerged as potential artists mainly
through painting are Fahmida Akhter Kakoli (1974-), Faruk Ahamad (1967-), Bipul
Shah (1967-), Zahed Ali Chowdhury (1970-), Ashraful Hassan (1977-), Abdus Salam
(1971-) and a host of others.
Though Abdus Shakoor Shah is slightly older than the other artists of this decade, he
became the focus of close attention from the nineties. He has been engaged in
experimentation in various styles and media from the seventies, although slightly
irregularly. This experimentation brought success to his art practice a bit late and in an
unexpected way. He avoided the formal dissection of modernism and represented the
simple narration of folk art and folk verses in a visually aesthetic way. The
Mymensingh Geetika attracted him immensely and its characters and text became
elements of his painting. His picture plane is created through extremely stylized
figures and animals, flat application of bright primary colors, use of text and repetition
of ornamental designs which creates a folk ambience and attraction (pl. 1.46).
The endangered existence of minority groups and the people belonging to small ethnic
groups are not well represented in our art. There are quite a few artists belonging to
minority communities, but from the ethnic groups, Kanak Chanpa is probably the first fig. 1.41 Kanak Chanpa
notable artist to enter the mainstream art. The simple charm of tribal life has always Chakma, Vibration of
attracted our artists and many of them from Shilpacharya Zainul Abedin to the young Bell, oil, 1998
artists have painted on this subject. However, it
was always the narration of tribal life and nature
or the physical beauty of tribal women seen
through the romantic eyes of a stranger coming
from the city. It can be said that the internal
conflicts and sorrows within the inner being of
tribal people were somewhat manifested for the
first time in Kanak Chanpa’s paintings. The
conventional method of painting and the
romanticism of perception have influenced her
artworks as well. However, sometimes the hilly
atmosphere and many things associated with the