Dhaka, May 4 – A solo art exhibition by Kuntal Barai titled ‘Displaced in Dhaka’ has begun at La Galerie, Alliance Française, Dhaka on Friday, 4 May. Prof. Nazrul Islam, academic, urbanist and art writer graced the occasion as the chief guest. Giusepee Semenza, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of Italy-Dhaka, Shahjahan Ahmed Bikash, associate professor and chairperson, Faculty of Fine Arts, UODA, art critic Mustafa Jaman and eminent artist Munirul Islam also attended the opening ceremony of the exhibition.
Kutal Barai, a young artist did his B.F.A and M.F.A in the Painting Department of University of Development Alternative. He has attended more than twenty group exhibitions in home and abroad. He was awarded the ‘Honorable Award’ for the 17th Asian Art Biennale by Bangladesh, National Art Gallery ,Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy, Dhaka.
About the Exhibition: A number of studies state that Dhaka has reached the peak of criticality with its unplanned growth. Overpopulation, traffic congestion, “development” sprees, and insanitary conditions have reached an all-time high. Where for a select few who can bear the brunt of a megalopolis gone haywire, Dhaka is a necessary evil, but the majority of Dhakaites do not find Dhaka a safe haven anymore.
The project is a survey of all of these and more. As an artist artist Kuntal Barai’s work takes into account the chaos as well as the sense of loss we have developed over the years. Still the artist believes there is an organic form of life in this chaos through which a new vision may one day burst into view.
Therefore, Kuntal’s work neither is a mere depiction of the lived experience nor is it only an interpretation where the real has been dissolved into conventional aesthetic standards. It is in fact a mixture of both.
There are about 100 artworks to be despaired in the exhibition and the media he uses are mixed media, printing and acrylic.
The exhibition will be open to all until 19th May 2018 in La Galerie, Alliance Française de Dhaka. Visiting Hours: Monday to Thursday, from 3:00 pm to 9:00 pm, Friday and Saturday (9:00am to12:00noon and 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm). Closed -Sunday. – AFD press release
