When one walks into the Hot Bread bakery at Banani road 11, they are transported into a contemporary setting and an art savvy world. The eatery has been around for more than a decade and its current modern interior and architecture is done by none other than the internationally acclaimed architect Mustapha Khalid Palash. His mastery is not only confined to architecture, but the versatile personality is also a gifted painter, singer and a social activist.
His current art exhibition “MKP Doodle World” is going on at the Hot Bread bakery, where a large space is dedicated to displaying artworks. The exhibition is a treat for art enthusiasts of the country and will continue till September 5.
A total of 36 art pieces are on display at the current exhibition, created using pen, felt, pastel and graphite. His works are wonderful rendition of random patterns in bright colours and bold strokes. Architect Professor Shamsul Wares said: “Although Palash is a professional painter, it was doodle that he fancied more often, at school, college and university class rooms and in between by pulling a sheet of paper from his notebook. Thus, the doodles otherwise useless gradually began to take curious shapes and patterns and emerged into consolidated unified and independent works of art.”
A seasoned art critic, Wares shares his view of Palash’s ongoing exhibition by stating that the artist in a way connects to what is metaphysical. He also shares that many of Palash’s works portray a pleasing psycadelic spectrum, as they are done with oblique geometry having dominant warm or cool colours.
Mustapha Khalid Palash is one of the most celebrated architects in the country and is the designer of many prominent landmarks of the city. Among his architectural masterpieces, the Unique Trade Centre [UTC], Grameenphone Corporate Head Quarter, Bashundhara City, The Westin Dhaka Hotel, Peoples Insurance Bhaban, Lab Aid Cardiac Hospital, Bangla Link head office, Robi Head Quarter, Siaam Tower, SPL Western Tower, Abdul Monem Business District and Delvistaa Building are praiseworthy and extraordinary to say the least.
His passion for art and its innate understanding comes from his parents, both of whom were talented painters and Palash’s first solo exhibition was inaugurated by famous painter Kamrul Hasan in 1978 when he was 16. Born in Dhaka in 1963, Palash was educated at the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, from which he received his Bachelor of Architecture in 1988. His line of business led him to partnership with fellow graduates, Mohammed Foyez Ulla and Shahzia Islam, to establish Vistaara Architects.
