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Mighty Sultan and the latest arts hub in town

Fayza Haq
Bengal Foundation's new cultural centre, the Daily Star-Bengal Arts Precinct, opened on May 23 at The Daily Star Centre with an exhibition titled "Poradrishti". The exhibit features works by master painter SM Sultan from the personal collection of Bengal Foundation Chairman and art collector Abul Khair. Founder and Chairperson of BRAC, Sir Fazle Hasan Abed and Professor Emeritus Anisuzzman joindy inaugurated the centre and the exhibition in the evening.
On display at the exhibit are 18 paintings and 15 drawings by the legendary SM Sultan. During the exhibition that runs until July 13, discussions on the varied aspects of Sultan's works will also be held. Large panels of canvases and hessian reveal men on the move, with old men, women and children on carts, and men safeguarding them.
"Untitled" (1987) has two men smoking under leafy green trees. This is an image of repose.
We see a large oil painting called "Untitled" (1991). Here is a melange of trees and roots with figures of men, women and children
"Oil on Canvas" (1991) show people at rest, the women wearing bangles, and necklaces. Apparently this is a jungle area with thick grass all over.
In one panel of paintings, we see the men resting with their children and possessions. There are women and children visible too.
Another oil on canvas piece captures a field of people. Here is the only
picture of Sultan where the mighty are lifeless. In the centre is the body of an old man who resembles a sage.
Around him are the corpses of women and children.
There is an idyllic painting where three women disembark from a boat.
In a huge panel of another canvas, we see elderly men with women and children on carts.
Of the two paintings which made Sultan most popular — one is the First Plantation — and the other is the land grabbing. Some writers have also use the word "attack" for the land confiscation, with bows and arrows and men rippling with muscles. The work is allegoric.
The colours used by the artist are burnt umber, yellow ochre and jet black. With this is the emerald and jade of the grass of the jungles. Sultan
does not leave a tiny bit of canvas free.
The opening of the centre was attended by a number of artists of repute, including Quayyum Chowdhury, Rafiqun Nabi and Hashem Khan. Of them, Biren Shome said artists' expectations are high from such a centre that is collaboration between two organisations that nurture and appreciate art.
Madrid-based Bangladeshi artist Monirul Islam, present at the opening, said he feels every big office should have a space for arts and culture, and that more such centres will give people more exposure to fine arts.
Mohammad Iqbal said tasteful galleries are still not very common in Dhaka, and it's great to see a new one opening doors. He also expressed hopes that it will host works not just
by master artists, but contemporary painters, and maybe even exhibits of foreign artists.
Kanak Chanpa Chakma heartily praised the gallery as well, on its aesthetics and location, terming it "much-needed". She said it could only be good news for artists, art critics and enthusiasts alike.
Khalid Mahmood Mithu said having such a centre at its own office building meant The Daily Star has opened its heart and given fine arts a place in it, adding that it could not have been a more fitting beginning, than to start its journey with works of a master like Sultan.
Artist Gulshan Hossain said she was excited about the precinct, and congratulated Mahfuz Anam and Abul Khair's vision in making it happen.