Artist Papa Nurun Nahar said that she expressed her contemporary thoughts and feelings in colour in her artworks displayed in her solo exhibition titled 鈥楢mi Ek Jajabor鈥� under way at the Safiuddin Shilpalay in the capital.
The exhibition will give art lovers a glimpse into her journey as an artist in the past 50 years.
鈥楾he exhibition depicts my journey as an artist. I have displayed my artworks created from 1976 to 77 and after 2000 in this exhibition,鈥� said Papa Nurun Nahar who displayed 56 paintings created between 1976 and 2024.
鈥業n my earlier paintings, I depicted folk characters and landscapes of Bangladesh and the life of village people, especially the life and struggles of Bangladeshi women. When I started living in Boston, I was inspired by the works of Victor Vasarely, a Hungarian-born French painter famous for his optical illusion. My teacher modernist painter Aminul Islam also motivated me to work with free-flowing subjects,鈥� said Nurun Nahar who was also inspired by cave paintings and psychedelic paintings.
She has depicted her thoughts by drawing different animals, including cats, dogs, zebras, horses, peacocks and roosters in her artworks.
鈥楶sychedelic paintings depict optical illusions. I like to create psychedelic paintings to surreally express my thoughts and feelings,鈥� added Nurun Nahar, who protests against war in her artworks.
鈥業 drew my painting series titled 鈥淲hite Phosphorus鈥� when Israel was dropping bombs on Palestinians in 2009. I think we have to stand against genocide, war and corruption to save the future generation,鈥� mentioned Nurun Nahar, who loves to paint using blue colour because it helps her express sadness and love.
A mixed media painting titled 鈥楢rjun鈥� shows animals of the world. It shows a cat named Arjun standing under the rainbow in the middle of the canvas. This artwork pays tribute to her pet that died in 2022.
An acrylic on canvas artwork titled 鈥楾ribute to Cyrus Dallin鈥� shows a Native American riding a horse beside a hill.
An acrylic on paper artwork titled 鈥楳one Rekho鈥� created in 2001 shows a Bengali woman stitching the sentence Mone Rekho on kantha.
An acrylic on canvas work titled 鈥楳ystery in Blue鈥� shows a horse rider entering a mysterious forest.聽
An acrylic on canvas work titled 鈥楢ncient Bulls鈥� shows a forest where animals like bison, bulls, wolves and deer are running to save their lives from hunters. The painting was created recently in the cave painting style.
Papa Nurunnahar Kazi completed her education at the Institute of Fine Arts, University of Dhaka in 1974. She has held ten solo exhibitions in Dhaka, Chattagram, the UK and the USA.
The six-day solo exhibition, which was inaugurated on April 19, will end on Wednesday.聽聽