“Distant Window," a group exhibition of works by teachers of the Govt. College of Arts and Crafts, Calcutta (Kolkata), is on at Zainul Gallery, Faculty of Fine Arts, Dhaka University . The exhibition holds significance in the sense that the master painters and pioneers of our art movement including

Zainul Abedin, Quamrul Hassan, Shafiuddin Ahmed, Anwarul Haq, Habibur Rahman and Mohammad Kibria were students of the college in Kolkata

Under the initiatives of cultural exchange, Indian painters' works are often exhibited in our country and because of cultural, social and traditional similarities between the two countries theartworks get appreciative viewers.

"Distant Window” features works of 26 painters, in a range of different mediums.

Dipali Bhattacharya works in many mediums but particularly enjoys the flexibility of working in mixed media. Her subjects arc rooted in everyday life and environment of Kolkata. Her visual is highly stylised. The

artist has taken part in several group exhibitions in Bangladesh earlier.

Kamalaksha Gangopadhyay mainly depicts feminine beauty, adorned with flora, on his canvas. Bengali women, in all their glory, illuminate his canvas.

Dipak Mukherjee is in his mid fifties and continues to enrich the Indian art movement with his creativity. Figures and objects create a unique dimension in his works. "Composition," by Mukherjee, features a woman with a violin. Her seemingly closed eyes convey a contemplative mood.

Somnath Roy is a non-figurative and non-objective painter. His works have a shadowy and mysterious quality. Experimenting with colour and texture is also one of his traits. His images have a watercolour-like transparency.

Rcbanta Goswami portrays a number of faces with distinctive styles. Each face has an individual expression. His colours are subdued. One gets an impression of ethnic diversity from the profiles.

Ratan Acharya's work does not stand out, as far as unique, new ideas are concerned. Women and flowers are recurring subjects in paintings in both Bangladesh and India. But the crescent moon in Acharya's painting does add a certain touch. Black, yellow and crimson are dominating in his works.

Manoj Sarkar’s painting features a figure, coiled in great pain and anguish. Distorted faces, figures and forms are often references to political, social and economical instability. Manoj's forms are moving and portray intolerable pain.

Lipika Bala's work frames a romantic and adoring sight — a couple sitting on a couch and perhaps reminiscing happy memories. A television, table fan, lamp, rug and others homely objects creates a realistic image of a middleclass living room.

Kiran Kumar Sen's works are dominated by various forms and vivacious colours. His images are lively and provocative. The red horizon in his work on display may inspire the viewer to contemplate the perspective of the earth.

The exhibition ends on April?.