Artist Qayyum Chowdhury delivers a speech on Safiuddin Ahmed’s life and works at the programme. — New Age photo

Senior artists, art critics and family members of eminent artist Safiuddin Ahmed recalled the master artist, at a commemoration programme organised by Gallery Chitrak Gallery, on Friday.
Qayyum Chowdhury, Monirul Islam, Rafiqun Nabi, Shamsul Wares, Abul Barq Alvi, Samarjit Roy Choudhury, Syed Jahangir, Sheikh Afzal, Shishir Bhattacharia, Abul Ahsan and the demised artist’s younger son, Ahmed Nazir, spoke at the programme. 
The programme began with bestowing flower bouquets to an image of the recently demised artist.
Safiuddin Ahmed (1922-2012) is one of the pioneers of contemporary Bangladeshi art. He became known as an artist in the 1940s and subsequently acquired his mastery in oil painting. Under his initiative, printmaking technique was introduced in the country. Above all, he made remarkable contributions to establish Charukala (Faculty of Fine Arts of Dhaka University) in the country.
The discussion began with a speech by artist Rafiqun Nabi, who emphasised on the life and works of the seasoned artist Safiuddin Ahmed. Moreover, he shared some unknown aspects of the artist, saying ‘Safiuddin was a music lover who used to listen to all genres of music, though he had great attraction for western music.’
Comparing him with Rabindranath Tagore, senior art critic Shamsul Wares, also a friend of Safiuddin Ahmed, said ‘Creative persons like Rabindanath Tagore and Shafiuddin are born once every hundred years.’    
Qayyum Chowdhury also observed that a golden era in the history of art in Bangladesh ended with the death of Shafiuddin Ahmed. Mentioning Safiuddin Ahmed as a great artist, Chowdhury said, ‘Safiuddin Ahmed was not only a great artist but also a great teacher. He used to pay careful attention to every student’s progress with equal importance.’
Syed Jahangir recalled memories of his student days while he was highly fascinated by Safiuddin Ahmed, saying, ‘His works had always fascinated me. He had equal expertise in etching and woodcut mediums.  His works were just mind-blowing.’
‘Safiuddin Ahmed was a simple and introvert person who always liked to create artworks for the sake of art itself and not for publicity or financial benefits. He was a perfectionist who didn’t create many artworks, as he was more concerned about quality rather than quantity,’ he added.
Moniruzzaman, executive director of Chitrak Gallery, recalled Safiuddin Ahmed’s contribution for establishing the gallery at his residence. ‘Sir donated a part of his residence, only for establishing a gallery to promote art and artists,’ he said. 
Following the discussion, popular recitation artiste Hasan Arif presented Rabindranath Tagore’s poem ‘Sandhya O Provat’ in memory of Safiuddin Ahmed.