Rudro Alok
1st Solo Exhibition of Artist Pradyut Kumar Das
The inauguration ceremony of the 3rd solo exhibition titled ‘Rudra Alok’ by artist Pradyut Kumar Das was jointly organized by Shilpangan and Bhumi Gallery on the evening of April 25, 2025. Eminent artist Hamiduzzaman Khan was present as the chief guest at the inauguration ceremony at Bhumi Gallery in Lalmatia, Mustafa Zaman, Dirctor Shilpakala Academy and Geeta Das, Chairperson, Naripakkha was present as the special guests.
There is no golden tradition of reading art in Bangladesh. Viewers who are unprepared to read and assimilate any pictorial language fail in many cases to acquire the ability to create the meaning of the artistic language and the expression formed by the medium. It is important to read the artist Pradyut Kumar’s language and expression in the light of the reality of his own time. Using the language of Borhan Uddin Khan Jahangir, this artist has created a world ‘throbbing with emotion and agitation’ in contrast to the ‘axiological expression of reality’ in the process of language formation. However, in the process of color and line, the artist is aesthetic in some works – as if on a journey towards abstraction, he wants to experience the joy of creation in a smooth way through the simplification of form.
Artist Pradyut Kumar Das has gone beyond the conventional medium and created most of his paintings by burning the bottom of plastic wood and applying color to it. Therefore, a mood of difference has been added to the conventional aesthetic thought in his paintings. The word mood is associated with feelings. But judging by the softness of the painting surface, this word can be used to discuss the expression of Rudra in this artist’s paintings.
Rabindranath Tagore, in his song titled ‘Jibon Jokhon Shukaye Jay’, while calling people to wake up, has introduced a subject like ‘Rudra Alok’. Such Rudra Alok becomes noticeable in Pradyut Kumar’s work.
All expressions related to Rudraros are basically a kind of emotional yet logical expression. The place of rationality is the product of a process based on construction and non-construction. The artist achieves this harsh or Rudra character through a specific method of using burnt forms and surfaces. More than the sorrows and pains of life, perhaps the degradation of society and the loneliness and helplessness of the individual in society are revealed through this ros. It is possible to expand the interpretation of this artist’s work by borrowing one more thing from Borhan Uddin’s artistic thought. According to the art theorist: ‘For any art, the concrete existence of the real subject is reduced to the pure elements of space and volume.’ Space or extent, or volume or density – these are what make the picture appear as an entity separate from reality.
The human form of his image is reflected in the metal sculptures created by the artist. Just as the social and personal thoughts of modern people are guided by the process of accepting reality rather than beauty, these sculptures are also like witnesses to the experience of reality. Their existential danger is clear in the brokenness of their bodies.
Image Gallery
