Dhaka-based artist and art teacher Mohammad Iqbal, known for his portrait-oriented imageries, in his 44th solo exhibition at Gallery APA, Nagoya in Japan extends on his theme by focusing on the human eye.
The exhibition features a total of 28 paintings, mostly done using oil on canvas. And portray human emotions through faces that look kind, unhappy, sad etc. Former cultural affairs minister Assaduzzaman Noor was present at the inaugural ceremony on August 24.
Over the last decade or so the artist has developed a tendency to use portraiture with overlapping and displaced eyes, primarily to evoke state of mind of the humans portrayed. As colours and painterly gestures are what make his works resonate with the viewers, Iqbal’s displayed paintings explore the same painterly variables to achieve his goals.
After surveying the new works, one realises that the layers have multiplied over the years. In an untitled painting, three different layers of a women’s face appear while the background is shown suffused with clouds, colourful dots and other painterly elements.
Another untitled painting shows three figures with distinct faces of women. As social being, they are shown attached to one another while their faces look animated, expressing different emotions. In the upper-left corner of the painting there appears a shattered human face.
Mohammad Iqbal is a prominent contemporary artist who studied art in Japan and regularly exhibits in both Dhaka and Tokyo. He is now an associate professor of drawing and painting department at the Faculty of Fine Arts, Dhaka University.
