Niamul Bari is an artist who likes to experiment, both with material and technique. As a result, the art that Bari has exhibited at the Bengal Gallery of Fine Arts is very interesting. On first glance, one will surely be surprised to see a unique style of painting where the artist uses space, dimension and his knowledge of sculpture to create his art. He uses a blend of techniques borrowed from different disciplines of visual art such as painting, ceramic arts and sculpture which translates to the artist’s own interests, experiences and aesthetic preferences. Bari’s travels across the world and his life in Bangladesh, India and U.S.A has provided him with an expansive opportunity to explore his thoughts and reactions to his experiences in the world.

‘The journey of NO’, Niamul Bari’s last solo exhibition in Dhaka that took place at the Dhaka Art Center in 2010, displayed his explorations of not only the countries and places he’s visited around the world but his own reactions to everyday events. He expressed the different realities he had lived through during his formative years through his paintings. The displays proved how subtly but decisively and seamlessly the artist could put together diverse elements on a single canvas.

Niamul Bari’s latest exhibition ‘Momentary Histories’, that took place at the Bengal Gallery in Dhanmondi is, according to the artist, different from the previous one in the sense that this is more definitive. Bari has managed to put up a display piece of powerful emotions through his affinity for experimentation, blurring the borders of sculpture and painting. The exhibition housed eighty-two of his works.

His works have been described as ‘meditative’ on more than one occasion. Bari’s turnouts, both from the past and present, reflect deliberate purpose even with the multiple layers and textures he likes to work with. His artwork generally contains fragments of objects from his daily life such as a piece of a dress or a disposed of candy wrapper. These items are often times hidden under layers of paint presenting to the viewers a series of artfully forged expressions of the artist. Even though, the artist clearly aims to deliver an introspective quality to his canvas, there is always a feeling of urgency. Looking at his work, one would feel a range of emotions, sometimes conflicting, as the diverse colours and texture purposefully merge with the various lines and shapes. His paintings, at their most meditative, will still evoke feelings of movement and speed.

Bari previously worked with two other mediums before he took up the canvas. Working with ceramics, his first medium, requires an intimate knowledge of the technique. The same can be said about sculpture, Bari’s second medium. On transferring from ceramics art to painting, Bari, equipped with knowledge and experience of the previous mediums, applies those insights and techniques to the canvas. This application results in a unique interpretation of time and space. Bari has a particular way of using space and accommodating the shifting attitude of time in works. His paintings usually have a sculptural feel that comes out on the execution of textures, the artist’s knack for gluing various everyday objects on and his frequent use of knives and spatulas when applying colours.

What Bari does exceptionally well is incorporating new ideas into his work without renouncing his originality. Many claim that his work has ‘a Bangladeshi ambience’ and the artist agrees without hesitation. His experiences as a child exposed him to different religions and cultural traditions and those in turn act as a setting to his creative ventures. Besides experience, the training he received in Chittagong and Dhaka helped hone his skills and is the basis for the core of his aesthetic sense and philosophy.

Niamul Bari