“KingKortobbyo,” a month-long group art exhibition, organized by Café Mango has begun at capital’s Dhanmondi. The inaugural ceremony was held at the café and gallery premises yesterday in the presence of guests from the arts and media scene, according to a press release.
The exhibition displays collective works of art by visuals artists and creative writers - Azizee Fawmi Khan, Rakib Anwar, Khairul Alam, Al Nasir, Jawad Hossain, Pijush Talukder and Mehedi Hasan. The opening event was attended by distinguished guests including eminent artists Monirul Islam; Abul Barq Alvi; Dr Rashid Amin, associate professor, Department of Fine Arts, UODA; Nazia Andaleeb Preema, director of Bangladesh Brand Forum; Wakilur Rahman of Kala Kendra art gallery and Ashraf Kaiser, managing director of Benchmark Limited. The guests praised the idea of hosting art exhibitions at a café and emphasized the significance of community arts. Salahuddin Ahmed, proprietor of Café Mango and Gallery expressed his intention of opening up the cafeteria space to host more exhibitions in the future, giving an opportunity to young creative minds to showcase their work.
According to “KingKortobbyo” organizers it “satirizes people, society and establishments, challenging the moral dilemmas of our lives. The exhibition challenges the authority as much as being skeptic of the vox populi.”
Most of the participants come from professional backgrounds in advertising and media, with experience in art direction, visualization, audio visuals, cinematography and copywriting. Their works show a heavy influence of commercial art, elements of pop and shock art through use of vibrant colours and texts.
“We have embraced the coexistence of good and evil within us, and our works are a juxtaposition of utopian and dystopian states of our mind, implying that our lives can be judged as both good and evil at the same time,” the press statement said.
“KingKortobbyo” intends to stick to its unconventional approach in art exhibitions and will keep adding new artworks throughout its run. The exhibition will be open to all, from 12pm to 10pm every day until Friday, December 21 at Café Mango and Gallery, Dhanmondi.
