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拍品專文
As a central proponent of the modernist movement in Bangladesh, Mohammed Kibria pushed the boundaries of modern art his country. His careful attention to color, line and texture produced complex works that, much like Kibria himself, “exude stillness yet radiate with life” (J. Jalil, Kibria, Dhaka, 2008, p. 11).
Born in Bengal in 1921, Kibria, known to be a quiet and humble man, began his career at the Calcutta Art School. As part of the first generation of Bengali modernists he studied under Zainul Abedin and was moved by his encounters with the work of impressionist and post-impressionist artists such as Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, Vincent van Gogh and Paul Cezanne. Their paintings brought his attention to the relationship between color and self-expression, pulling him away from representational forms and towards abstraction. By 1954, Kibria was teaching art at the University of Dhaka’s Faculty of Fine Arts, where Zainul Abedin, “having realized [his] potential to introduce a new paradigm into the art world, ensured that Kibria joined as a teacher” (J. Jalil, Ibid., p. 15).
Kibria was awarded a government scholarship to study at Tokyo University of the Arts in 1959. In Japan, the artist was heavily influenced by the minimalism and simplicity of traditional printmaking, particularly the practice of his teacher Hideo Hagiwara, and used his time there to continue to develop his mature, modernist style. Pushing past the artistic conventions of the masters of the Neo-Bengal School who preceded, he began composing works that relayed only the faintest hint of context. During his stay in Japan, Kibria participated in several exhibitions, winning awards for his work including the Starlem Award at the First Young Asian Artists Exhibition in Tokyo (1959) and the All Japan Print Exhibition award (1960). On his return to Bangladesh, Kibria continued to win accolades in the arts, such as the Ekushe Padak (1983), the highest civilian award for painting in Bangladesh, and the Independence Day Award (1999). Having dedicated 45 years of his life to teaching at the University of Dhaka, he was also bestowed with the title of Professor Emeritus of the Faculty of Fine Arts there in 2008.
In the present lot, Kibria demonstrates the delicacy with which he was able to layer pigment, creating the subtlest of tonal gradations while exploiting the intricacies of color relationships. In other places, the pigment changes rapidly as the viewer’s gaze moves across the work, creating a complex viewing experience. Texture also helps draw the viewer’s eye around the painting, with the artist’s brushstrokes seemingly encircling the dark void at its center. By fusing technical mastery with a deep understanding of line and compositional balance, Kibria creates a silent intensity in this work. “To visually express the pictorial journey, Kibria begins by working with the emptiness of the surface. Then he gradually builds up his thought process to create the image. He applies layers of colours to convey different thoughts. The colours melt together to create various tonalities which convey the movement of emotions. Throughout this creative process, his journey through time plays a vital role” (J. Jalil, Ibid., p. 131).
Born in Bengal in 1921, Kibria, known to be a quiet and humble man, began his career at the Calcutta Art School. As part of the first generation of Bengali modernists he studied under Zainul Abedin and was moved by his encounters with the work of impressionist and post-impressionist artists such as Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, Vincent van Gogh and Paul Cezanne. Their paintings brought his attention to the relationship between color and self-expression, pulling him away from representational forms and towards abstraction. By 1954, Kibria was teaching art at the University of Dhaka’s Faculty of Fine Arts, where Zainul Abedin, “having realized [his] potential to introduce a new paradigm into the art world, ensured that Kibria joined as a teacher” (J. Jalil, Ibid., p. 15).
Kibria was awarded a government scholarship to study at Tokyo University of the Arts in 1959. In Japan, the artist was heavily influenced by the minimalism and simplicity of traditional printmaking, particularly the practice of his teacher Hideo Hagiwara, and used his time there to continue to develop his mature, modernist style. Pushing past the artistic conventions of the masters of the Neo-Bengal School who preceded, he began composing works that relayed only the faintest hint of context. During his stay in Japan, Kibria participated in several exhibitions, winning awards for his work including the Starlem Award at the First Young Asian Artists Exhibition in Tokyo (1959) and the All Japan Print Exhibition award (1960). On his return to Bangladesh, Kibria continued to win accolades in the arts, such as the Ekushe Padak (1983), the highest civilian award for painting in Bangladesh, and the Independence Day Award (1999). Having dedicated 45 years of his life to teaching at the University of Dhaka, he was also bestowed with the title of Professor Emeritus of the Faculty of Fine Arts there in 2008.
In the present lot, Kibria demonstrates the delicacy with which he was able to layer pigment, creating the subtlest of tonal gradations while exploiting the intricacies of color relationships. In other places, the pigment changes rapidly as the viewer’s gaze moves across the work, creating a complex viewing experience. Texture also helps draw the viewer’s eye around the painting, with the artist’s brushstrokes seemingly encircling the dark void at its center. By fusing technical mastery with a deep understanding of line and compositional balance, Kibria creates a silent intensity in this work. “To visually express the pictorial journey, Kibria begins by working with the emptiness of the surface. Then he gradually builds up his thought process to create the image. He applies layers of colours to convey different thoughts. The colours melt together to create various tonalities which convey the movement of emotions. Throughout this creative process, his journey through time plays a vital role” (J. Jalil, Ibid., p. 131).