Rafiqun Nabi
I feel delighted to know that a new gallery named ‘Gallery MAFA’ is going to begin it’s journey. To celebrate the opening ceremony organisers have decided to arrange the Group Art Exhibition. Congratulations and thanks to Prof: Mustafizul Hoque,
the promoter of ‘Gallery MAFA’ for his noble endeavour.
Mahfuzur Rahman
Celebration of Bangladesh Fine Art
Fine arts are the product of human aesthetic thought and sophisticated thinking. Just as
artists have created artworks throughout the ages, art connoisseurs have enjoyed them
with pleasure. The artists may have various reasons and motivations for creating a
piece of art, but art lovers focus on that artwork because they get food for thought and
contemplation; beauty and aesthetics. As a result, artwork means the union of artist and
art lover a bridge built between art and art connoisseur. There is also a prominent role
that a group of professionals plays in building this bridge—they are art promoters, art
galleries, and museums.
Art is one of the major tools for judging a civilization. A society is more advanced when
the artists, art connoisseurs, and patrons are equally active in unison. Therefore, we
rely primarily on the number of art galleries and museums to reflect on the status of art
in that society. The addition of the Gallery MAFA to the Dhaka art scene is not only good
news for art lovers but also a comfortable platform for citizens to enrich their
understanding of beauty and aesthetics.
Artist Mostafizul Haque is an inspiring personality in the Dhaka art scene. He is
relentlessly awakening the perception of art among young children. His students are
now scattered in different parts of the society. They are committed to building passion
and appetite for art. He is also a successful entrepreneur. He has established several
institutions, all of which have provided opportunities for art study and art practice.
Establishment of Gallery MAFA is another step forward in that endeavour.
Most of those who practice art in Dhaka have studied art in this city. Since the
establishment of the Dhaka Art School in 1948, there have been over a thousand active
artists throughout Bangladesh. The foremost among them have created their own
unique style through their own talent and brilliance, as well as through devotion and
commitment. Gallery MAFA did a commendable job in bringing a wide range of such
artists to display their splendid works to mark its inauguration.
Over the years, Bangladeshi painting has been able to establish its own distinctive style
and brilliant signature. Moreover, Bangladeshi painting has now taken its place in the
international arena. The paintings included in the exhibition amply represent that rich
and varied style, and distinct and diverse genre. There are landscapes, abstract
paintings, realist and surreal paintings, and then there is oriental motifs, folk
elements in a word, a diverse display of contemporary paintings. Just as the unique
beauty and vast natural diversity of Bangladesh has emerged here, so have the abstract
visions reflected in the wisdom, thinking, and philosophy of the artists. Different times
and different styles are represented here. Just as the paintings feature various
techniques, media, and genres, so too do the experiences of the veteran and the
abundant artistic dreams of the young.
Gallery MAFA has successfully blended the young and the veteran on one platform. It is
expected that art lovers, connoisseurs, and critics will enjoy this exhibition alike. It is an
occasion to celebrate the great confluence of art that the artists are presenting through
colors and lines, and through thoughts and understandings.
-Mahfuzur Rahman
