‘Struggle’ to showcase 100 of Zainul’s works

An exclusive exhibition of legendary Bangladeshi painter Shilpapachariya Zainul Abedin titled ‘Struggle’ will start today at Gallery Chitrak in the capital. The inaugural ceremony of the exhibition will take place at 5:00pm.

Sumon Wahed curagted the exhibition, which will showcase more than a hundred paintings, painting tools, and relevant documents used by Shilpapachariya Zainul Abedin.

The paintings that will be featured were mostly painted between 1939 and 1976 which include, ‘Monpura 70’ and ‘Durbhikkher Chirtramala’.

Prominent artist professor Rafiqun Nabi will be present as a chief guest, while Muhammed Aziz Khan will be present as a special guest at the opening ceremony of the exhibition. Bangladeshi actor, politician, and activist Asaduzzaman Noor will preside over the ceremony.

The exhibition is open to all and will continue till December 31 every day from 11:00pm to 8:00pm.

Born in Mymensingh, Zainul Abedin became well known in 1944 through his series of paintings depicting some of the great famines in Bengal during its British colonial period. After the Partition of Indian subcontinent he moved to East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). In 1948, he helped to establish the Institute of Arts and Crafts which is now known as Faculty of Fine Arts at the University of Dhaka.

An activist defending Bengali culture, Abedin was engaged in both the Bengali Language Movement and the Bangladesh Liberation War.

Abedin developed a social realist style, often focusing on struggle and suffering as in his acclaimed “Famine Sketches”, which powerfully documented the Bengal Famine of 1943-1944. He also showed interest in marginalized communities, painting, for example, the Indigenous Santhal people, or refugees in the Palestinian camps of Syria and Jordan.

Abedin received many awards and accolades during his life including an Honorary Doctor of Letters degree from the University of Delhi, India (1974). His work is exhibited in a dedicated gallery at the National Museum of Bangladesh. Bengal Foundation has published or co-published several monographs and catalogues on his work, among them “Great Masters of Bangladesh – Zainul Abedin” (Skira, 2012), is the only comprehensive survey to date.