Landscape -1 by Hamiduzzman Khan

Seasoned sculptor Hamiduzzaman Khan is a forerunner in his respective medium. However, people hardly know his skill as a romantic painter. A professor of the sculpture department of Dhaka University, Hamiuduzzaman Khan demonstrates his mastery of watercolour and acrylic mediums, at his ongoing solo exhibition at Galleri Kaya.
The 30th solo exhibition of the seasoned artist, titled ‘Watercolours and Sculptures’, features 79 recent artworks- sculptures and paintings. Tiny metal sculptures, on display at the exhibition, are no exception to his well known sculptures that express the inner motion and energy of animals, birds and geometric
forms.
But, the artist’s skill in expressing the peace and harmony of natural elements through his watercolour compositions, mostly semi-realistic, is definitely a new experience for art lovers.  
Following his series of recent tours across Bhutan, Maldives and Bangladesh, Hamiduzzaman Khan portrays cloudy sky, hills, deep forest and sea, through lucid use of colour.
 His composition titled ‘Landscape 1’, done with watercolour on paper, gives the heavenly look of the landscape in the hilly country of Bhutan. Through different layers of colour combinations, the master artist has created an artistic panorama where clouds play on the hill peaks in the sunny, blue sky.
In fact, Hamiduzzaman Khan was highly influenced by the green valleys underneath deep blue skies of Bhutan, which the artist has expressed in several other aesthetically rich watercolour paintings, such as ‘Landscape 11’ and ‘Landscape 12’. He focuses his fascination with the impressive phenomena of blurred light and drizzle on the deep green valleys.
 The artistic expression of the typical green ocean in Maldives, in some of his semi abstract water colour paintings, such as ‘Landscape 16’, is also noteworthy.
Hamiduzzaman Khan has experimented with water colour shades, not only to express the serenity of nature, but also to express the inner spirit of human souls, through the study of human faces in his face series. The faces are not identical and each face expresses a unique reaction and look. The facial expressions sometimes express pleasure, horror and melancholy.
In terms of aesthetics, Hamiduzzaman is more experimental in the case of acrylic paintings. He has experimented with colour combinations and creating textures on his acrylic on canvas works. Most of his acrylic on canvas works contain profound textures, to create symbolic backgrounds for delivering the inner message of the foreground images.
‘Landscape 34’ is one of such experimentation where the artist has presented the zeal of an ethnic minority woman from the Chittagong Hill Tracts in Bangladesh, through the semi-abstract image of the brown skinned woman in the midst of nature.
‘Watercolours and Sculptures’ will end on June 6.