ARTIST Ahmed Shamsuddoha won the Grameenphone Award at the ongoing 17th National Art Biennale, organised by the Department of Art, Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy, for his painting Potentiality. The other painting by Shamsuddoha at the biennale is Aim. The common feature in both his surrealistic

paintings is keeping the prospect of hope alive. Shamsuddoha also won the Bengal Foundation Award at the 16th National Art Biennale (2005).

The artist delineates hope in the award-winning painting Potentiality with mushrooms growing on seemingly inhospitable stones - a motivation for the viewerto overcome hurdles in life.

Shamsuddoha started off with landscapes but eventually moved to surrealistic paintings and he prefers oil colours for his canvas. He also works with watercolour, pastel and charcoal mediums. Among the colours, the artist prefers yellow, blue and green. There are a few common motifs that frequently feature in Shamsuddoha's canvas. According to Shamsuddoha, “I often use the forms of Kathgolap (a local flower) and crystal balls to represent hope in my works.”

Going over his recent theme of the paintings, Shamsuddoha says, “We are going through an unpredictable time. But, I strongly believe that it will not continue for long. Depression is an inevitable part of life. But, as an artist I'm very much optimistic. I don't like to highlight grief or ongoing social turmoil in my art, rather I want to generate hope among the viewers fora better future.”

Shamsuddoha graduated in Drawing and Painting from the Institute of Fine Arts, and is currently a freelance artist. Can an individual take art as a profession? Shamsuddoha's response: “Why not? There are a good numbers of art buyers in the country now. The number of local buyers is more than that of nonBangladeshi ones, and the number is increasing gradually. Moreover, corporate companies are buying artworks as well. I think an aspiring artist can safely take art professionally now.”