Art

Adornment of Athena

Fayza Haq

Athena's gallery at Progoti Sarani boasts of 26 major artists of repute. A lot of the clever curator's work goes to the credit of young Zeenat Ikramullah, who along with her cousin, Asif Rizwanullah, has made sure that the best known artists are displayed. This took a lot of time, energy and patience. Zeenat had been well prepared for the work, being exposed to western galleries like the as Guggenheim.

Nilu Morshed, who owns the massive gallery, has written the forward to the superb drawing display of maestros. Qayyum Chowdhury's “Untitled” in ink on paper shows women with ample bosoms, hanging straight hair and large earrings. The Greek god-like character in the story, with curly hair and immaculate features, is included in the composition.

"Taking Off", Shahabuddin Ahmed (1994) Print.

Murtaja Basseer's offering of curved lines gives us a girl with her clear curved features, desirable, young and trendy. She could fit in any age portrayal. Sarmajit Roy Choudhury's drawing of 2007 of ink on paper has the conventional and traditional story of merrymaking with lines, loops, stars, faces, kites birds, happy couples, trees, houses and birds. This could easily be seen as a semi-abstract depiction of a happy and contented Bengali society.

Shishir Bhattacharjee's 'Untitled', a work of 2011, in ink on Paper, depicts weird personalities, creepy insects and strange animals such as street cats and dogs at loggerheads. The young angry human beings with fins where there should be hair and fish scales on forehead make Shishir's imaginative work out of this world. Caterpillars, cockroaches, baby snakes go into the composition. So does a leg of a hen with claws, the head of a fish with rows of teeth in a wide open mouth, dirty feet with ingrown toe nails, and a boy's hand playing with a top and string.

Abdus Shakoor Shah's “Drawing-111” in Pastel and paper shows a man and a woman, as if from the Cave Age. The man has been honoured with a set of three eyes. The lady, meanwhile, has a nose ring, a pony's tail and two set of eyes on one side. She wears an earring and a fitting necklace at the throat.

Untitled, Shishir Bhattacharjee (2011), Ink on paper.

Farida Zaman's preoccupation with young women and endless arrays of birds bring “Bird Played (2012) -- cute fat breasted birds in all shapes and sizes with long tail and light fantastic wings. The female forms in Jamal Ahmed's works are "Fatema" and "Pagla I" in pastel and charcoal. The woman is sporting a “dotara” and does not require a blouse to hide her bare top.

“Needle and Thread”, charcoal on paper, by Kanak Chanpa Chakma, remains a breathless depiction of hill side tribal beauty. She is adorned with coin-like jewellery in strings on the waist and neck. The appeal of the untamed beauty is superb and nonpareil. Her striped skirt is another lovely element. The scattered hair is a joy forever.

	Mohammad Eunus, Drawing (2010), Pen and ink.

The bathing woman in Chandra Shekhar's creation, with its extravagance of water and creepers, are surely out of this world. Monirul Islam's “Way to the Pilgrim", in mixed media is an exotic and highly imaginative creation, which will remain a joy to behold.

Mohammad Eunus's “Drawing”, with its winged horse in pen and ink on paper, is energetic, imaginative, lively and full of details. Eunus is surely a master creator.

"Taking Off" by Shahabuddin Ahmed, (1994) in print, should cut much ice in parts of India and Bengal. Like most other artists of Bengal, for him, the 1971 War is never to be forgotten

Naima Haque's “Political Leader", a mixed media of 2012, is both charming and grotesque and should draw attention of art buffs. Dhali Al-Mamoon's charcoal on paper drawing is as lifelike as it could possibly be.

 

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