Moklesur Rahman -- who amazed the Dhaka art scenario, by bagging an Asian Biennale trophy (2001) at a young age -- is currently holding an exhibit at Kolkata(Dec 6--12). The display is at the Academy of Fine Arts and showcases his splendid woodcuts with their scintillating prints in woodcut. The show is basically inspired by nature, and ushers in the magnificent flora and fauna of Bangladesh, with their limitless joys. The prints go under the title Beautiful Bengal. This is his third solo exhibit.

Rahman uses bold and buoyant colours, with dramatic sweeps of overwhelming lines that couch and impregnate the hues. Flamboyant and fastidious, he presents the harmony and joie de vivre of his country with care and candour, bringing in chiaroscuro of light and shade and the unheard music of silence of nature. He includes the golden paddy fields, the rows of violet, emerald and mauve streams, the rhapsody of birds, bees; the cattle in the pasture and the endless

labouring farmers and fishermen are included in the weave of his remarkable vision. In his abstractimpressionist style of juxtaposing of his lines and hues, he invokes a universal appeal.

He brings in tranquillity and harmony in his lyrical forms by the use of his multiple blocks of wood. He employs pre-coloured handmade paper, along with the use of jet-black ink. With his fine vision and intellect, he experiments with multilayered transparent colours, which he uses with subtlety and discretion.

Rahman has been influenced by Safiuddin Ahmed, Mohammed Kibria, along with Abul Barq Alvi and Rafiqun Nabi. The US artist Karen Kunc, who conducted a workshop at the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy in 1995, also inspired and encouraged him.

Rahman has taken part in 11 foreign group displays in France, Japan, India and Bangladesh. He has participated in 18 other local joint exhibits. He has won two awards: the Grand Prize of the 10th Asian Biennale, Bangladesh, and Honorable Mention Award at Saju Gallery (both in 2001).