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Soul & Symbols of a Delta: Contemporary Art from BangladeshPost an Event »

SOMArts

June 7 - June 18, 2012

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http://www.somarts.org/
(415) 863-1414

934 Brannan Street San Francisco, CA 94103

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Kalidas Karmakar, Alluvial Diary-85, 2008, Mixed Media on Handmade Paper

Alluvial Arts is pleased to present its inaugural show Soul & Symbols of a Delta: Contemporary Art from Bangladesh. The show will feature the work of three acclaimed Bangladeshi artists: Proshanta Karmakar Buddha, Nagarbasi Barman and the internationally renowned artist Kalidas Karmakar, and will run from June 7-17, 2012 at SOMArts, 934 Brannan Street, San Francisco, CA 94103. The opening reception is on June 7, 2012 from 5:30-7:30 pm. In the last decade, contemporary art from Bangladesh has grown tremendously in exposure and recognition across Asia and Europe. As the first curated show of contemporary Bangladeshi art to be exhibited in California and one of the first of its kind in the United States, this is a rare opportunity to experience firsthand an emerging form of contemporary art that interprets and reclaims ancient artistic traditions of the Bengal in today’s context. The show explores the multifaceted relationship between earth, struggle and hope that is so central to the experience of the Bengal region. Borne out of the waters of the world’s largest delta, the story of the Bengal is the history of a people whose experience of the sensual, subconscious and supernatural domains has long rested on the precarious nature of earthly elements. Since its independence from Pakistan in 1971, tumultuous political change and vast urbanization in Bangladesh have slowly replaced the whims of nature as the most influential forces of change across this historically agrarian landscape. These new transformations have urged the Bengali people to contemplate their spirituality and subconscious in new ways, to reflect on the current state of their lives and their potential for the future, and to achieve a new serenity – a new perspective that is fresh and full of hope, on their position and role in a globalized world. The works of Kalidas Karmakar, Proshanta Karmakar Buddha and Nagarbasi Barman present different faces of the Bengali psyche, reflecting both the subliminal experience of dreams and other layers of the human subconscious (our fears, fantasies, spiritual and moral beliefs), as well as the dynamism of human exchange with the outside world, including government, healthcare, village and family structure, and the environment. For instance, in Nagarbasi’s intricate etchings of the day’s catch, one feels the struggle and bewilderment of fisherman searching for a new equilibrium amidst climate change. It is this very equilibrium that is conveyed in Kalidas’ mixed media creations, as he uses mud and stone to create symbolic representations of the relationship between struggle and hope, and the interdependence of chaos and order in nature, civilization and the human psyche. Proshanta depicts a poetic simplicity in his silk screen prints, recasting familiar images of Bangladesh in a fresh and uncluttered aesthetic, as subtle reference to an emerging place, people and identity. Together, the works of these three artists communicate the complex narratives of a society in flux – of a changing identity that is embracing modernity while staying rooted in the earth that gives it life. Kalidas was born in 1946 in Faridpur, Bangladesh and holds an MFA from the College of Fine Arts and Crafts in Kolkata, India. He has earned numerous scholarships, fellowships and residencies including ones with the Asian Cultural Council in New York, the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, the French Government and the Warsaw Academy of Fine Art. He has held 33 group exhibitions and 37 solo exhibitions in Bangladesh, other Asian countries, Europe and the United States. Proshanta was born in Faridpur, Bangladesh in 1965 and graduated from the College of Arts and Crafts of Rajshahi University in Bangladesh. Over the years Proshanta has featured his work in 50 group exhibitions in Bangladesh, India, Italy and France, and held 12 solo exhibitions. His art is in collections at the National Museum of Bangladesh, the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., the New Orleans Museum of Arts, the Greater Baltimore Cultural Alliance, several other art institutions in the United States, as well as in numerous private collections in Asia and Europe. Nagarbasi has been featured in 31 group exhibitions in Bangladesh, India, Japan and Iran, and has held two solo exhibitions in Bangladesh. He was born in Kariganj, Bangladesh in 1973 and has an MFA from the Visva Bharati University in India. The works on display range from midsized etchings, silk screen prints and mixed media on handmade, Japanese Washi paper, to large-scale oil and acrylic paintings on canvas. The diversity of medium, style and inspiration offers a small taste of the rich and multidimensional contemporary art of Bangladesh, and of the soul and imagination of its artists. "I am so pleased to be presenting this work for the first time and look forward to many more opportunities to share my passion for contemporary art from Bangladesh with audiences in the US." – Samira Rahmatullah, Founder, Alluvial Arts Alluvial Arts' mission is to promote contemporary art from Bangladesh in the San Francisco Bay Area and across the US. Through art shows, public programs and publications Alluvial Arts hopes to bring greater exposure to the depth of content and talent among contemporary artists in Bangladesh and in the Bangladeshi diaspora, and to connect art communities and collectors across the US with a yet relatively undiscovered source of contemporary art that is refreshing, engaging, and that holds all the promise of a place and people coming into their own.