The lesser-known dimension of the late eminent artist Mohammad Kibria comes into view through a solo exhibition titled ‘An Artist’s Compilation: 84 Unseen Original Works (1980–2006)’, currently on display at Kalakendra, Dhaka. The exhibition presents 84 small-format works on paper, many of which are being exhibited publicly for the first time.
Supported by City Bank, the exhibition is organized jointly by Kalakendra and the artist’s family to mark what would have been his 97th birth anniversary.
The works in the exhibition are drawn from a handbound folio that Kibria himself compiled over more than two decades, suggesting a private archive shaped with care, discipline, and a quiet sense of purpose.
What distinguishes this exhibition is the revelation of a more introspective Kibria. These pieces operate on an intimate scale. Most are created on letter-sized paper using pencils, pens, watercolors, pastels, etching, oil, mixed media, and collage. Printed paper fragments, clipped magazine pages, textured layers, and restrained color interventions are prevalent throughout.
Several collages are composed of dark grounds—black, brown, or grey—onto which textured scraps and subtle tonal shifts have been assembled. In some places, small dabs of color punctuate the surface, while elsewhere, delicate linear gestures hover like afterthoughts.
All these smaller-scale artworks emphasize restraint, nuance, and philosophical calm. Several compositions also evoke an archaeological sensibility—surfaces that appear weathered by time, such as fragments of ancient walls, corroded metal plates, or fading manuscripts.
One particularly striking piece features a golden, matte texture that recalls eroded plaster, while another one features sharp white marks against a deep black field, resembling streaks of light piercing the darkness.
Furthermore, the absence of individual titles reinforces the sense that these works were never meant to be spectacles. Instead, they function like notes, meditations, or private experiments—records of sustained inquiry rather than declarations intended for the market or gallery wall.
Kibria himself selected and arranged these 84 works into a folio, binding them by hand and designing the cover. It remains unclear whether he intended to collect it for a future exhibition or publication. However, the artist’s particular focus on form, sequencing, and preservation is evident.
Beyond the artworks themselves, the folio also contains personal materials—letters, exhibition catalogues, photographs, and even a drawing gifted by fellow artist, another legend, Kamrul Hassan. Also on view is a letter appointing Kibria as an emeritus professor at the University of Dhaka in 2008. Together, these artifacts frame the folio as a time capsule that traces both artistic evolution and lived history.
Born on January 1st, 1929, in Birbhum (now in West Bengal, India), Mohammad Kibria graduated from the Calcutta Art College in 1950 before moving to Dhaka. He then joined the newly established Dhaka Art College in 1954. Later pursued advanced studies in Japan from 1959 to 1962 on a government-sponsored scholarship.
Over the decades, he established himself as a master printmaker, painter, and educator, retiring from the Institute of Fine Arts at the University of Dhaka in 1987. He received major national honors, including the Ekushey Padak and the Independence Award, and remained a revered figure until his death on June 7, 2011.
At a time when Kibria’s works have become increasingly scarce in public galleries, many now residing in private collections, this exhibition offers a rare opportunity to encounter a less visible chapter of his artistic journey. It reframes him as both a monumental modernist and a quiet chronicler of time, texture, and thought.
In the midst of Dhaka’s urban intensity, Kibria’s folio opens a slower, more meditative world—one in which paper, pigment, and memory converse in subdued tones. The exhibition does not merely commemorate an artist’s legacy; it expands it, revealing a body of work that is at once archival, philosophical, and strikingly alive.
The exhibition will run until February 2nd, 2026, open daily from 4 pm to 8 pm, with support from City Bank.
Written by Shahbaz Nahian
