A exhibition entitled Gravity-Free World by the painter A Rahman, is being held at the Bengal Gallery of Fine Arts. It will continue until January 31. An expat living in Rome, Rahman is displaying 62 of his paintings and pencil-sketches for the show – a treat for art lovers in Bangladesh.
The exhibition is the part of a series by curator and art critic Mustafa Zaman.
Rahman’s canvases often bear a hole. Interpreting the symbol, the artist says, “Since 2000, I have been drawing this ‘hole’ in my canvases. I would say it has become a landmark in my artwork. I use it as a sign to depict the life cycle of a human being.”
His series of artworks Psychedelic Noise Notes containing elements of Psychedelic art, makes Rahman a unique artist with a distinct style. About his work in the genre, the artist says: “It is my artistic effort to depict the inner world of my consciousness.”
Psychedelic art gained popularity in rock concert posters and music album covers in the 1960’s. In this digital age, Rahman works with digital prints that add 2D and 3D Psychedelic effects to his canvases.
His artwork titled On Unidentified Plateau-13 is composed of mixed media and Rahman has depicted watery figures of amoeba on the black background. His artwork Gravity Free Walk depicts a man, whose figure has been distorted, walking on the roadside. The artist is a nature lover and his sketches of flying birds and fish portray his close observation of nature.
A Rahman was born in Feni in 1970. He obtained his MFA from the Institute of Fine Arts, the University of Dhaka, in 1996. In the 1990’s he finished his studies on print making. Then he widened his aesthetic in Italy. Rahman made his way working in a prominent artist’s studio, where he was introduced to a range of other artists. To practice his art, he travelled back and forth between Rome and Bangladesh.
Rahman also did a one-year free course in printmaking at the Rome Academy in 2005. He obtained a diploma in fashion design from Burgo Fashion Institute, Rome, in 2007. With 11 solo exhibitions at home and abroad, he has participated in a number of group exhibitions in Bangladesh, Japan, Italy and France.
Eminent artist Monirul Islam inaugurated the exhibition as guest-of-honour, while art critic Mainuddin Khaled was also present.