An eight-day solo art exhibition of noted artist Asif Bahauddin Sikder, who developed a new genre of semi-abstract-surrealistic paintings, began in the city on Friday.
Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu inaugurated the exhibition titled ‘Really Don’t Mind A Little Bit of Lonesome’ at Gallery Cosmos-2 in the city’s new DOHS area in the evening.
A total of 31 innovative paintings that reflect mixture of oriental and occidental concepts have been put on display at the show.
Asif Bahauddin Sikder is a US-based Bangladeshi painter, who is well known for breaking the boundaries of existing forms as he blended inter-cultural character study, philosophical reflection, Indian mysticism and spirituality, mixing it all up with his extensive travels and experiences around the world.
The exhibition will remain open from 12pm to 8pm every day till March 11.
The information minister said Bahauddin’s paintings reflect flavour of soil and human beings as well as dreams simultaneously.
He said people of ancient ages had passed away, but paintings inside caves still speak about the history of the ages and the people of 1000 and 2000 years back.
Inu also hailed the Gallery Cosmos for promoting arts in the country.
Enayetullah Khan, chairman of the Gallery Cosmos and Editor-in-Chief of UNB, said Bahauddin has strong relations with Bangladesh and its soil which is hardly seen among Bangladeshi expatriates now.
Noting that the artist’s painting is very lively, he said it is not possible for anyone to copy his paintings.
Enayetullah Khan said the Gallery Cosmos and the Printmaking Studio have been established as social service organisations from the very beginning. “We’re working to make arts more popular outside Dhaka as well… We’re going to donate printmaking machines to three universities this year.”
In his speech, Bahauddin said he wants to enrich the world by painting about what does not exist. “I don’t want to impose any meaning of my painting so that the audience can practise their own freedom to create their own meaning from my works,” he told UNB.
Shirin Akter MP, Dean of the Fine Arts Faculty of Dhaka University Prof Nisar Hossain, Director of the Institute of Nutrition and Food Science at Dhaka University Prof Nazma Shaheen, President of Dhaka University Teachers’ Association Prof Farid Uddin Ahmed and Adviser of Gallery Cosmos Afrozaa Jamil Konka were, among others, present at the function.
Bahauddin married Carol Anna Meese, an American painter, in the early 1990s. Together, they exhibited their works in Kathmandu, Dhaka, Paris, New York and Virginia.
Now in his 50’s, he has touched many of the bases in life. From childhood trauma to a prolonged addiction throughout his “art-student era”, which he survived to tell the tale and that in itself radiates hope.
