The publication ceremony of the book “Rafiqun Nabi’r Chitrabali” (Paintings of Rafiqun Nabi) was held on Sunday at Chhayanaut Sanskriti Bhaban in the capital’s Dhanmondi, featuring the paintings of the eminent Bangladeshi painter and Dhaka University Drawing and Painting Department Professor Emeritus Rafiqun Nabi.
Hosted by Gallery Chitrak, the event, chaired by Dhaka University Professor Emeritus Dr Nazrul Islam, was joined by cultural luminaries from the society including the chief guest and the country’s prolific academician, critic, historian and DU Professor Emeritus Serajul Islam Choudhury; alongside eminent journalist and the daily Prothom Alo Editor Matiur Rahman; author of the book Dr Syed Azizul Huq, prominent art maestro and former dean of DU Faculty of Fine Art Nisar Hossain, and renowned academician and English translator of the book Dr Fakrul Alam, as the speakers.
Gallery Chitrak Managing Director and artist Md Moniruzzaman delivered the welcome address. After the musical performance of Chhaya Karmakar, who performed the songs of Rajinikanth Sen and Rabindranath Tagore, the speakers shared their remarks about the book.
Addressing the chief guest at the event, DU Professor Emeritus Serajul Islam Choudhury said, “This book provides a detailed picture of Rafiqun Nabi’s work, covering all of the mediums he worked with. The unified body of Rafiqun Nabi’s artworks is a picture of Bangladesh through its vibrant representation of the nation’s people, society and thriving folk culture.”
Syed Azizul Huq, the author of the book ‘Rafiqun Nabi’s Chitrabali’ said, “Rafiqun Nabi has worked in various fields of the country’s art industry. A total of 160 of his paintings are discussed individually in the book.” Besides sharing the experience of writing for Rafiqun Nabi in this book, Syed Azizul Huq also shared his experience of writing books discussing the works of Shilpacharya Zainul Abedin, and the late eminent artist Shafiuddin Ahmed.
The entirety of Rafiqun Nabi’s work is contained in a single volume, according to Prothom Alo Editor Matiur Rahman, who said, “This collection of Rafiqun Nabi’s artwork is a significant accomplishment for our nation’s art and culture since his art inspired us to view our surroundings in a new way. He works frequently even at this age, demonstrating his versatility; and his art is a reflection of the working class, both male and female, and village-town. He came up with the word ‘Tokai’ which the Bangla Academy has recently introduced into its dictionary.”
“The paintings of Rafiqun Nabi provide the real experience of color,” Professor Nisar Hossain stated, adding that his sense of art is realistic. He also read and discussed some chapters from the book, while lauding Dr Huq for always being factually accurate regarding such literary works.
Professor Fakhrul Alam, who translated the book into English, stated that he felt gratified by the opportunity. Sharing a fond memory of receiving art mentorship from Rafiqun Nabi during his younger age, Prof Alam shared how he became interested and involved with the book.
The star of the night Rafiqun Nabi thanked the author of the book Syed Azizul Haque, the translator, Fakrul Alam, and the organizer of the event, Gallery Chitrak. “Painting is hard work, and I am not in favour of piling up artworks without purpose. To create something meaningful, you have to paint on a big canvas with humour and taste, and the artworks in this book are beautifully and accurately demonstrated by the author and its translator as well.”
Presiding over the event, Dhaka University Professor Emeritus Dr Nazrul Islam said, “Rafiqun Nabi has highlighted the working and poor people. He is a great artist, but he did not devote time to organization-based work like Zainul Abedin and Kamrul Hasan. His famous character ‘Tokai’ is elevated from cartoon to painting in this book.”
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