Renowned artist Shahid Kabir's five rare paintings are on display at the residence of art collector Rezwan Rahman at Baridhara. An ardent fan of the mystic bard Fakir Lalon Shah, the artist portrayed Jesus Christ and mystic bard Lalon on a same frame along with depicting many paintings based on the philosophy of Lalon. In fact, he attained fame for his series on Lalon and Baul in the 1980s. The painter left for Spain in 1981 at his artistic peak for higher studies and returned to Bangladesh in 1997.

Apart from these priceless pieces of art, the display also includes Kabir's two self portraits and a couple based on a stone sculpture collected by Bangladesh National Museum. The artist has produced many egg tempera paintings, many of which were sold, except these five masterpieces. The artist says that will neither sell these paintings nor donate to any foreign museum, and will only consent to display if Bangladeshi museums ask for them.

Art collector Rezwan Rahman is delighted to display the paintings at his residence where artworks by Bangladeshi masters are also seen. He thinks that if someone wants to understand Shahid

Kabir, s/he needs to be acquainted with the paintings. Kabir has lent these to Rezwan for the time being.

BRAC founder Sir Fazle Hasan Abed, renowned artists- Monirul Islam, Shishir Bhattacharya and Nisar Hossain, Bengal Foundation DG Luva Nahid Choudhury, architect Mustapha Khalid Palash, human rights activist Khushi Kabir, and officials from different embassies were there among others to enjoy the display.

Shahid Kabir, who paints passionately with the subjects of downtrodden people, their daily chores and usable items as well neglected segments of our surroundings, his art features particularly the disadvantaged and exploited community. Their destitu-

tion and struggles are recurring subjects of his works. He reflects on their sufferings and untold miseries in his works.

Kabir's creative process is extremely intuitive, touchy, meticulous and detailed. His mode of expression is multi-dimensional. Realistic, semi-realistic, impressionism and abstractimpressionism are quite apparent in his works.

The early works of Shahid Kabir treat a wide range of subjects and evoke moods ranging from mysticism to morbidity. For some times, Kabir worked under the influence of Baul philosophy that renounces the material world and searches for the infinite through song, dance and music.