Uttara-based Galleri Kaya has organised a ten-day exhibition paying tribute to the late Independence Award and Ekushey Padak-winning artist Murtaza Baseer.
The exhibition, which began on Friday, has been organised marking the 93rd anniversary of the birth of the late renowned artist.
The gallery has displayed 46 artworks Baseer created in oil, mixed media, ink, pen etching, aquatint, dry point, stone, pencil, serigraph, linocut on paper and canvas.
Besides, it showcases selected coins, stamps, currency, key rings from the collection of Baseer along with selected books, catalogues, photographs and valuable letters.
A collection of twelve serigraphs denote varied moods of women and a variety of drawings from different periods are being showcased at the exhibition.
Three stone sculptures showcase human faces in various dimensions. His sculptures are distinctive, labour-intensive and commendable.
His artwork, Linocut printed on paper, titled 鈥楤iriwala鈥� portrays a cigarette vendor eagerly anticipating customers.
Another print titled 鈥楽hoe Shine Boy鈥� shows a young shoemaker searching for clients while one hand of the cobbler is occupied with his belongings and the other grasps a brush.
A pastel-on-paper drawing titled 鈥楴akshikantha Stitching鈥� shows a village woman stitching a Nakshikantha, the traditional form of embroidery in the Bengal region.
The exhibition was inaugurated on Friday, which will remain open until August 31.
A Language Movement veteran, Murtaja Baseer was born on August 17 in 1932 on Dhaka University campus.
The youngest son of the eminent linguist Dr Muhammad Shahidullah, Baseer also works as a poet, short story writer, novelist, researcher, numismatist, and filmmaker.
His historical research work 鈥楳udra O Shilalipir Aloke Banglar Habshi Sultan O Tothkalin Samaj鈥� was published in 2004.
Besides, he published a collection of short stories titled 鈥楰ancher Pakhir Gaan鈥� in 1969, three books of collection of poems, including 鈥楾rashorenu鈥�, 鈥楾umake Shudhu鈥�, 鈥楨sho Phire Anushuya鈥� and translation of his own poems titled 鈥楩resh Blood Fade Line鈥�.
He wrote romantic novels, namely 鈥楿ltramarine鈥� (1978), 鈥楳itar Shangey Char Sandhya鈥� and 鈥楢mitakkhar鈥� recollecting his memories of 1950s in Kolkata where he met a Christian girl.
Besides, Baseer wrote the script of Sadeq Khan鈥檚 Bangla film 鈥楴adi O Nari鈥� (1965) and was also its art director and chief assistant director.
He was awarded Ekushey Padak in 1980 and Independence Award in 2019 for his contribution to the country鈥檚 art scene.
At the age 88, Murtaja Baseer died on August 15, 2020.
