Presented by Britto Arts Trust and Bengal Arts Programme
BEYOND THE BRIEF
On view until Saturday, 8 August 2026, every day from 4 to 8 PM.
Bengal Shilpalay . Quamrul Hassan Exhibition Hall . Level 1, Bengal Shilpalay . House 42, Road 27 . Dhanmondi, Dhaka.

For generations, we have believed that creativity finds its most profound expression when liberated from utility. Graphic designers, whose visual intelligence long ago shaped the language of commerce and contemporary culture, are among the most inventive practitioners of our time. Yet their creative agency is often circumscribed by the parameters of client commissions.
In this exhibition, ten designers reclaim authorship through autonomous artistic practice. Their mastery of form, typography, and narrative is transformed into compelling propositions spanning painting, digital interventions, and mixed-media installations. Born of introspection and conceptual inquiry, each work becomes a personal articulation of memory, perception, and critical thought.
The exhibition dissolves the perceived boundaries between applied art and fine art, revealing creativity as a fluid practice moving seamlessly between communication and artistic expression. Here, sustained artistic practice becomes a site of speculation rather than solution, redrawing the contours between disciplines to offer expansive possibilities for imagining anew.

H. E. Mr. Gabriel S. O. de Chinchetru, Ambassador, Embassy of Spain to Bangladesh, inaugurated the exhibition on Saturday, July 18, 2026. Educator, researcher and distinguished visual artist Prof. Dhali Al Mamoon also spoke on the occasion.

Curator:
Mahbubur Rahman, Britto Arts Trust

Participants:
Imran Hossain Piplu . Manir Mrittik . Ali Sagar . Shekhar Shashwath . Pijush Talukder Pintu . Mahbubur Rahman
Sanad Kumar Biswas . Mita Mehedi . Mehedi Hasan . Shimul Datta

Mahbubur Rahman, Curator: A performance artist, sculptor, and painter, Mahbubur Rahman’s work often responds to current or historical events and the effect is nearly always dramatic. In performance works, he attempts to find a kind of knowledge through embodied experience. Co-founder of Britto Arts Trust that promotes young talent, Rahman has exhibited at the Venice Biennale and Fukuoka Museum, Japan, and recently at Documenta 15, Kassel.
Mahbubur Rahman was born in Dhaka and completed his M.F.A (1993) in Drawing and Painting at the Institute of Fine Art, University of Dhaka. He has had a number of solo exhibitions and projects in Dhaka, Delhi, Mumbai, Chittagong and Yogyakarta. With artist Tayeba Begum Lipi, his major duos are ‘Artist as Activist’ curated by Caitlin Doherty at the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum (MSU), USA in 2016 and ‘Faces of Intimate Strangers’ at Modern Art Museum, Shanghai curated by Sandy Hsiuchic Lo.

Participating artists:
Imran Hossain Piplu: Imran Hossain Piplu (b. 1972, Dhaka) is a Bangladeshi sculptor and multidisciplinary artist. He earned an MFA in Sculpture from the University of Dhaka in 1998 and received the Best Award for Sculpture in 1997. Since the late 1990s, he has exhibited internationally across Asia, Europe, and Latin America, with participation in major exhibitions, residencies, and workshops. Recent highlights include documenta fifteen (2022), RECOLLECT! at Kunsthaus Zurich, In Focus at Centraal Museum Utrecht, and Harewood Biennale (2024). Piplu is the Founder-Trustee of Britto Arts Trust. His works are held in the collections of Tate Modern, Kunsthaus Zurich, Neue Galerie Kassel, and Centraal Museum.

Manir Mrittik: Manir Mrittik (b. 1975) is a Dhaka-based contemporary artist working across photography, weaving, drawing, painting, and digital media. His practice explores memory, history, identity, and temporality, often transforming photographs through experimental interventions to question dominant narratives and artistic traditions. He completed his Master’s degree at the University of Chittagong. Mrittik has exhibited extensively, including at Dhaka Art Summit, Chobi Mela VIII, the Bronx Museum of the Arts (New York), and Akar Prakar in New Delhi and Kolkata. His first solo exhibition in India, In the Realm of Ambivalence, was held at Akar Prakar, New Delhi, in 2018.

Ali Sagar: Ali Sagar is a Dhaka-based visual artist whose practice encompasses sculpture, visual art, and writing. He earned his BFA (2001) and MFA (2003) in Sculpture from the Faculty of Fine Art, University of Dhaka. His works have been exhibited at the Asian Art Biennale, the National Art Exhibition, Alliance Française de Dhaka, and the Vaskor Sculpture Exhibition. In 2004, he joined a Britto Arts Trust artist residency and sculpture project. Alongside his artistic career, he has spent over two decades in advertising and currently serves as Senior Creative Director at Mediacom Limited. He is also a published poet.

Shekhar Shashwat: Shekhar Shashwath has worked across art, design, and advertising for more than three decades. Early in his artistic career, he participated in numerous exhibitions and received the Media Best Award in Miniature Sculpture at the 1995 Tone Miniature Art Exhibition. Professionally, he has held leadership roles for major brands in consumer products, food and beverage, finance, and telecommunications. He has led impactful campaigns promoting social awareness and women’s empowerment and contributed to numerous award-winning advertising projects. Shekhar is also the founder of Advertising Archive Bangladesh, dedicated to preserving the country’s advertising history and creative legacy.

Pijush Talukder Pintu: Pintu (b. 1983, Madaripur, Bangladesh) earned his BFA and MFA in Painting from the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Dhaka. Raised in a rural farming family, his early experiences shaped his artistic vision and deep connection to Bengali folk culture. His practice draws on rural proverbs and oral traditions, exploring resilience, humor, and social commentary through symbolism, visual metaphors, and text. Inspired by nature, he creates realistic paintings with strong depth and precision. Influenced by his career in advertising, Pintu incorporates elements of commercial art to satirize contemporary society, challenge conventions, and provoke thoughtful engagement.

Mahbubur Rahman: Mahbubur Rahman (b. 1982) is a contemporary visual artist and advertising professional with over 18 years of experience. He is Group Creative Director and Head of Art at FCB Bitopi, where he has led major campaigns for leading Bangladeshi brands. His expertise in consumer insight, cultural research, and behavioral analysis informs both his strategic communication and artistic practice. As a multidisciplinary artist, Rahman explores humanity’s relationship with nature, questioning anthropocentric worldviews and their ecological consequences. Working across diverse media, he creates layered works that examine the imbalance between human ambition and the natural world.

Sanad Kumar Biswas: Sanad is a Dhaka-based multidisciplinary artist whose practice spans sculpture, installation, live art, multimedia, and site-specific projects. Growing up as a member of a minority community shaped his exploration of isolation, alienation, and identity. His work examines how personal experiences connect with broader social and political structures, often using satire, immersive installations, and visual metaphors. A founding member of Daagi Art Garage, he has exhibited at Dhaka Art Summit, Britto Arts Trust, Bengal Foundation, and Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy. He received the Media Best Award in Sculpture (2016) and the Sohid Nona Miya Memorial Award (2010).

Mita Mehedi: Mita Mehedi (b. 1982) is a Bangladeshi artist and social activist who uses art as a tool  for change. Obtained MFA in Graphic Design from the Faculty of Fine Arts, she transi­tioned from advertising to a socially engaged practice. She is known for pioneering  Bengali Typography as a form of protest, addressing issues like women’s rights, envi­ronment, and global peace. Through digital platforms, she amplies marginalized  voices, making her a signicant voice in contemporary activist art.

Mehedi hasan: Mehedi Hasan (1980) studied Oriental Art at the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of  Dhaka. His artistic practice is characterized by a minimalist approach enriched with  diverse colors and forms. Through the appropriation of pop imagery, satire, and irony,  his works explore the complexities, emotions, and tensions of contemporary human  life. As a member of Britto Arts Trust, his collaborative works have been presented  internationally at the documenta fteen, MAXXI, Asia NOW, Jakarta Biennale, India Art  Fair, and the Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale. Alongside his artistic practice, Mehedi has worked in the advertising industry since  2007 and currently serves as a Creative Director, collaborating with leading local and  multinational brands.

Shimul Datta: Shimul Datta (Mymensingh, 1985) is a visual artist, who lives and works in Dhaka. In 2007 he completed his BFA and in 2009 MFA, in Sculpture from the Faculty of Fine Art, University of Dhaka. Shimul explores various mediums, and to enhance his skills, Datta has participated in important workshops. He has cultivated his stillness through sculpture, painting, video, and various digital media as well. Shimul enjoys expressing his artistic ideas through installations. Shimul exhibited his works in Documenta fifteen is the 15th edition of documenta, a contemporary art exhibition held in Kassel, Germany, The Zurich Archipelago, Switzerland, Art Dubai. In Focus, Centraal Museum, Utrecht, Netherlands. Create/ Elevate, Harewood Biennial 2024, Leeds, UK. FICA, Serendipity Art Fest, The Death Sentence, Bengal Shilpalay, River Delta, Alliance Française de Dhaka and many more renowned exhibitions around the globe. Alongside the exhibitions he has participated in several residencies, such as Sandwich Inc. Kyoto, Japan, Tokyo Wonder Site. In 2018 Datta received Honourable Mention Award at 4th National Sculpture Exhibition. He is one of the members of Britto Arts Trust.