Collecting Treasures

Monirul Islam, Rain on White Fort, acrylic on corrugated board, 90x153cm, 2004.

The role of the art collector has always been significant for the survival of art for how would artists survive if not for the patronage of the art lover? Even the great art museums of the world would not be as imposing as they are, most of them having been built on donations from individual collectors. To acknowledge the contributions of collectors, Bengal Art Lounge in Gulshan has started a new series of exhibitions of private collections titled “Ways of Seeing”. The series is an insight into the world of collecting and the taste and zeal that compels art enthusiasts to buy art. The aim of the sequence is to nurture art appreciation, which is the first step in creating a sustainable and lively art scenario. The gallery has commenced the series with a selection of works from the collection of Durjoy Rahman Joy, managing director of Winners Creations Ltd and owner of a private gallery, Gallery Winners.  

Samarjit Roy Chowdhury, Composition, oil on canvas, 168x107cm, 1996.

The focus of the exhibition is on eminent painters from Bangladesh. The exposition is dedicated to the memory of late artist Aminul Islam, several of whose early works are on display at the exhibition. The exhibition also includes the works of Quamrul Hassan, Safiuddin Ahmed, Mohammad Kibria, Abdur Razzaque, Murtaja Baseer, Samarjit Roy Chowdhury, Rafiqun Nabi, Monirul Islam, Mahmudul Haque, Shahabuddin Ahmed and others.
Joy started collecting paintings in the early 1990s. Ever since then he keeps some criteria in mind—quality, historical and philosophical aspect of the artwork and its aesthetic value. He enjoys visiting art galleries, art carnivals, and museums when he travels, to become familiar with the art and the art movement of those places. The collector has tried to blend culture and time with his collection. Most of his works have historical and anthological value. Joy's collection has an extraordinary trait in that he collects the series of works of his preferred artists. The largest collection includes the artworks of contemporary Bangladeshi master painters, great Indian masters and western contemporary artists. Along with his wife, Dr Sania Ahsan, Joy has created a strong and comprehensive collection of works. His collection now exceeds 800 works of art.
The avid collector says, “I always believe that I buy a piece because I like it, not because anyone else tells me to. It speaks to me. I can't just glance at this work— I have to listen to it. It stimulates me, attracts me. Art should not be considered an investment but purely a hobby. If a collector gives his attention while collecting the work, in most cases viewers of the work will definitely appreciate its value. I always feel that the effort involved in collecting and the pleasure of owning major works by important artists is very satisfying. Though the Bangladesh art market is underpriced, seeing art as a future investment takes away all the fun of acquiring a work.”
Several artworks of Mohammad Kibria are included at the show. The painter is considered an iconic figure in contemporary art, as he introduced modern paintings where compositions, colours and forms are major features. The exhibited paintings can be explained in many ways where one can find the touch of mysticism; some can get the taste of harmony, melancholy or despair. His mode of expression (in paintings) had been trademark through all his creations. In the showcased works one feels the lament of a lonely soul, an underlying sorrow or a feeling of bareness.

Murtaja Baseer, Wings, oil on canvas, 181x120cm, 2005.

The collector is well known particularly for the large number of significant works by Rafiqun Nabi, whose development Joy has been following for over a decade. He is probably the largest painting collector of this artist. Two rare woodcut prints by the artist created during his stay in Greece are also included in the show.  
Among contemporary Bangladeshi painters, Joy has a great fascination for Murtaja Baseer's works. He collected a number of paintings from the series of “The Wings” and “The Wall”. The Wings” is one of Baseer's noteworthy series, articulating truth, beauty, romanticism and spirituality. The most significant part of the series is that all of the works have a deep correlation to each other but each painting denotes its individuality. In the series, abstraction has been attained through fractional representation of the whole and by the boldness of colours. Joy says, “Though I have large of collection of Rafiqun Nabi and Murtaja Baseer, I feel it is not the number but quality that should determine the collector's strength. The definition of the collector does not mean that person has to possess a large collection or buy in volume.”
The collector has a number of worthy prints of Safiuddin Ahmed. He collected them from different sources. Safiuddin was a symbol of a purist artist. Every single piece of his work is labour intensive. He always searched for perfection in every piece and the labour continued until he was satisfied. His works has mainly focused on rural panorama, pastoral life, landscapes, floods and other natural calamities as well as Santal life.
Monirul Islam's different mediums of works have also enhanced his collection. At the exhibition, a painting of a large corrugated board enables the painter to portray his desired illusion and fantasy. The painter has used oxide colours, smoked black, different types of soil, coffee, marble dust, brick dust, burnt ground rice, acramin and natural pigments. The painter has used special glue that bonds the materials. Then he has worked on them with acrylic, oil, hand colour, pencil and other mediums to portray varied surrealistic and symbolic images, which feature elements of surprise, perplexity, unanticipated juxtapositions and vague forms.
Through the works of Mahmudul Haque, it is easily comprehended that the painter has a great fondness for compositions and forms. His works delve deep into the imaginary world and are remarkable for the artist's signature turquoise composition. His painting also presents a flat space with subtle colours as well as thick textures.  
Some of the early works of Samarjit Roy Chowdhury, also in the collection where Samarjit's mode of expression is pure cubic realism. The collection has also been enriched by Samarjit's recent paintings, blending modern motifs with folk elements. Scribbles and thick lines crisscross over his paintings. His lines are not polished at all. The uneven lines create an individual language, highlighting a rural essence to his paintings.
Joy has a number of artworks of Quamrul Hassan in different mediums of several periods. He has also a fascination for Shahabuddin's paintings and owns a number of oil paintings of the painter from 1972 to 2010. He collected most of them from the painter's residence in Paris. The collector said, “You can see the development of Shahabuddin through these works. In the beginning his figures were still, and then he started working on the movement. First he mastered the run, then the jump, then the cry. An artist grows with time, and an early work is very different from a later one.”
Several Indian artists like Akbar Padamsee, Ram Kumar, Jamini Roy, Nandalal Bose, Subramanyam, Paresh Maity, Jogen Chowdhury, Paritosh Sen, Sunil Das, Bijen Chowdhury, MF Hussain, Sanat Kar and a number of European artists Pablo Picasso, Francis Bacon, David Hockney, Henry Moore, Andy Warhol and Lucian Freud have also enriched in his collection.
The exhibition will continue till February 3.