Zahangir’s ‘Songs of Soul’ ongoing at Alliance Francaise

Sheikh Arif Bulbon :
Artist Zahangir Alom paints from the core of his heart, intoxicated by the festival of creative pleasures. Having worked
as ‘Resident Artist’ of Oriental Painting Studio for a long time, he has developed his own style of watercolour wash
technique. The maturity of colour mixing is the unique quality of his painting. Some of his works are semi-abstract. The mature arrangement of colours in the painting can be seen in conjunction with the maturity
of his senses.
The melody of the music, the rhythm of the poem and the dance of the female body are alluded to in his paintings. Sometimes ‘Gaudiya Nritya’, sometimes ‘Desh’, sometimes ‘Bageshree’, sometimes ‘Khamaj’ or ‘Malkauns’ raga; sometimes the play of clouds, sometimes the afternoon of Late-Autumn, sometimes magical twilight, sometimes the beauty
of Bengal, sometimes ‘Leelakirtan’, sometimes the subject-narrative of mythological anecdotes play in his paintings.
He paints many images of flowers which do not exactly resemble real flowers. Here the colour comes with the charming message of form.
The itinerant artist’s work celebrates the visible nature, but his view
of nature is not a close-up view. He made series paintings based on the motifs of Bengal’s Sarachitra – which are mixed with the new
language of Bengali folk paintings. The inner flowers, female figures, trees and foliage are arranged in an imagined alchemy.
Although the painting is a traditional wash method, the painting is full of three-dimensional mixed colour play.
The third solo art exhibition by Zahangir Alom titled ‘Songs of Soul’ is going on at the La Galerie, Alliance Française de Dhaka in Dhanmondi.
Anis A Khan, Member, Board of Governors, Society for Promotion of Bangladesh Art, Prof Mohammad Eunus, Chairman, Art Bangla Foundation, Zareen Mahmud Hosein, Director, Shasha Denims Limited and Prof Dr Malay Bala, Department of Oriental Art, Faculty of Fine Art, University of Dhaka attended the event as the special guests.
This exhibition includes works in the watercolour wash technique. The shape of the figure is similar to heap
of clouds in the movement of colours. There
is no attempt at clarification, but the figures (mostly female figures) give the appearance of real flesh figures.
This skill has been acquired through his long practice and watching
the work of oriental artists in the studio.
In most of his works, Zahangir has used red, blue, yellow, orange and black colours with the same brightness. There remain the expanse of standing trees, the
glimmer of light through the gaps in the trees and the evocative
silhouettes of childhood memories in his
paintings. Almost every work has a touch of blue.
The Monsoon,
rain-drenched nature, the smell of the earth and the colour of the air are saturated in the melody of nature’s music.
The exhibition will be open to all till November 11 and the gallery remains open from 3:00pm to 9:00pm from Monday to Saturday.