Familiar and ordinary moments receive extraordinary treatment in the art of Jamal Ahmed.
His solo exhibition, on display at an exhibition titled “Ordinary Life: Extra Ordinary Vision” at the Athena Gallery of Fine Arts in the capital, was inaugurated on January 9 by distinguished artist Shahabuddin.
In his work, Jamal portrays the emotion and beauty of the mundane surroundings that are the companions of daily life.
Everyday scenes fail to capture our attention; we are too well acquainted with them to pay them, and the artistry inherent in them, heed.
The uniqueness of Jamal’s eye is in the way his art focuses our eyes on the ordinary occurrences and objects, bringing us in touch with the feeling of a specific emotion or situation.
He gives us an acute realisation of the things we habitually miss out on.
Using an array of media including acrylic, charcoal, pastel and pencil, Jamal exhibits his studies of the human figure and the human soul on a meaningful background.
One of his pieces, “From the river,” not only reveals the beauty of the riverbank but also centres our focus on the human figures who belong to the working class.
Pigeons, depicted with a wonderful sense of colour, feature prominently in the series.
As a distinctive artist, Jamal is a pioneer in representing Bangladeshi Fine Arts to the world art market.
Born in 1955, Jamal is currently an Associate Professor at the Institute of Fine Arts, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh.
He was a visiting teacher in the Art and Design Department at North Carolina State University and a visiting Artist in Residence in the United States.
He has had 41 solo exhibitions in Japan and the US.
The exhibition will be on display till January 31.
