Ranjit belongs to that select group of Bangladeshi artists whose reputation have spread fast at home and beyond. He attracted the attention of art lovers and critical appreciation of reviewers long before he was awarded the Grand Prize at the Asian Biennial in 1995. Through rigorous discipline of composition and sensitive perception of the themes chosen he cast a binding spell on the people who stood before his works. Verging on asceticism in using linear forms he appeared more of a geometrician and an architect engrossed deeply in inter-linked structures trying to solve the tantalizing mystery of the empty canvas than an artist pre-occupied with conventional freewheeling composition. In the process he has developed a style that is distinctively his own. In a medium where universality of subject and ubiquity of technique threaten to engulf the identity of individual artist, Ranjit’s signature style stand out boldly as the unique expression of his creative spirit and virtuoso skill. Executed exquisitely within the confines of geometrically divided space, his works exude confidence and bear testimony to his unwavering commitment for aesthetics of both the sublime and the mundane.

Though opting for the abstract genre Ranjit never ignored human and animal forms which in many of his paintings hold the fragmented space like anchors. The overall compositions derive their strength through strategic juxtaposition of tension and balance represented by the living forms, both human and animal, however minimal or suggestive they may be. In the beginning these forms appeared in fragments – an eye staring from a one-eyed face, a truncated mouth, a half hidden nose, a disembodied hand etc. Notwithstanding the incompleteness, they never failed to have overwhelming effects disproportionate to their size or irrespective of their location. This was mostly because his images appeared as disturbing through their intense presence radiating tension quietly all over the canvas. A sense of helplessness and pathos was generated by these forms in their cameo role in the grim world of daily struggle. This feeling was heightened by the subdued, almost somber color effect and plain surface of the canvas unrelieved by textural varieties. But gradually over the years Ranjit has broadened the scope of his subjects and along with it the color configuration while retaining the same rigor of geometrical pattern of squares, rectangles and circles. Grim looking faces of men women and animals (mainly horses) in his earlier paintings are now supplemented by diverse expressions, particularly with calm composure which balance the sense of despair and pathos that infused his early works. The paintings in the present exhibition capture such tender and lively moments as shyness (Hiding face in sari), repose (Combing hair), exuberance (Moving figures in the series “Run”) and camaraderie (Boy with goat, Girl with goat, Girl with flower), moody (Sentimental) and others. In keeping with the new trend set in his last exhibition, figures are depicted in large scale, sometimes too large for the space of the canvas. A new dimension added now is the rural landscape as the backdrop with and without figures. In the smaller canvases a recurrent motif is the full moon washing the almost invisible landscape in gossamer thin rays that create mistiness and evoke romance. Cleansed of all unsavory aspects by the pristine and all pervading rays of the moon the rural landscape not only looks idyllic it also casts a hypnotic spell.
In most of the eighty plus paintings done for the exhibition this change in mood is as prominent as the presence of human form on a larger scale, often as complete anatomical representation. In the new paintings figures are the dominant forms and hold the overall composition together more directly than before and tell stories. Paintings like “Girl and goat”, “Girl with basket”, “Man with umbrella”, “Workers in city street” are narratives of the lives of ordinary people. In their tenderness and intimacy the expressions in these paintings have the rhythm of ballads. In the four paintings on the theme of Liberation War (Tragedy and triumph) figures with varying dimensions and gestures bring out the essence of the subject poignantly through interplay of composition and color combination.
Appropriate to the change of mood, characters (living forms, nature) and their role (narration) is the use of bright and somewhat translucent color (effected by turpentine) infusing the paintings with a lyric quality. The crimson color of the evening sky depicting solitude (Godhuli-dusk), mistiness of the wan moon (Moonlight symbol), multi-colored dots and bubbles erupting in joyful abandon as ttexture in many canvases (Night fishing, Song of fire, Life, Gossip), circle of varying sizes in black, white, red and yellow seen profusely in many of the new paintings (Life, Bandhan-Bondage, Sangram-Struggle) and small patches of bright swirling colors in

Different strokes are some examples of the skillful use of colors by Ranjit to evoke the emotion relevant to the subjects. The wide range of colors and their diverse tonalities are departures from the austerity and sublimation of color used by him in the past. No longer
Obsessed with a bleak view of life and nature, the new paintings show a guarded optimism, even a joyful spirit, shining through vibrant colors. The combination of vibrant colors and diverse human forms in some of the paintings achieve a scintillating effect of movement not seen before in his works. This is an astonishing feat because he retains his signature technique of using geometrical shapes of squares, rectangles and triangles. Through the mediation of new configuration of colors the mechanical, almost oppressive, hold of the horizontal, vertical and angular lines of the geometrical forms with disturbing images, has now been replaced by a kind of joie de vivre. It becomes obvious that if forms (particularly human) have a dominant role in the new paintings, color composition adequately and suitably complements that in its variety and richness. In some paintings working up of rich textures with spatula and leaving out empty space on the canvas heighten the effect of color through contrast and balance bringing out the theme of the paintings more graphically and dramatically, too. In selecting and using a wide range of colors Ranjit has not only demonstrated his virtuosity but also at the same time opened a new vista to life where hope and happiness flicker with the tenacity of the unvanquished flame.

The present exhibition is not just another display of Ranjit’s works but one where he has confirmed the turning of corners showing a change in the vocabulary while continuing with the best of the past. This evolutionary progress so much desired in a creative artist and so difficult to attain has now been taken in stride by him. His friends and admirers, and critics as well, can be expected to reciprocate Ranjit’s greetings for them in the new millenium.

Hasnat Abdul Hye
September 2000