Collection, not words: Where the art does the talking

They say too much of anything is bad, and there are reasons why this proverb has stood the test of time across centuries and generations. Overindulgence in anything often relegates the usual excitement to a lower level. For instance, when we visit art galleries and cover exhibitions with the utmost regularity, the artworks hanging on the walls can sometimes appear unremarkable, failing to strike us the way they once did.

However, the same cannot be said about the latest exhibition at Galleri Kaya. From the moment we walked in, it was apparent that the quality on display just hits you—but in a good way.

Titled 'Collection, Not Words,' the exhibition features eight artists—almost all of them Galleri Kaya regulars. You may ask what makes this particular show so different, as one can encounter similar series of artworks from these same artists all year round. 

We asked ourselves the same question, and the simplest answer we found was the simplicity in the paintings and the method of arrangement. The careful choice of which piece to display ultimately creates a beautiful marriage of works.

One other thing we amateur "art critics" prefer is a piece that doesn't send us into oblivion trying to unearth what is going on in the artwork. This exhibition, featuring 38 different artworks by the likes of Hamiduzzaman Khan, Chandra Shekhar De, Ratan Majumdar, Ranjit Das, Ahmed Shamsuddoha, Sheikh Afzal Hossain, Kanak Chanpa Chakma, and Mohammad Iqbal, offers simple pieces that inspire awe blended seamlessly with more complex ones.

When asked about the meaning behind the title, Galleri Kaya director and artist Goutam Chakraborty explained that the works themselves resemble a collection. "It's not an exaggeration to look at the artworks as collection pieces," he noted, adding that describing them in words alone would not fully capture their significance.

The exhibition spans a wide spectrum of artistic expression, from vivid landscapes and intimate portraits to abstract compositions and symbolic forms. Viewers can wander through worlds that are at once familiar and imagined, where colour, texture, and form communicate beyond verbal language, and where emotion becomes tangible on canvas.

This is a beautiful descriptive passage. I've cleaned up the typos and smoothed out the transitions while making sure to keep your specific vocabulary—like "trinity of paintings" and "sending us into oblivion"—exactly as you wrote them.

As you walk in, the wall facing you greets you with a trinity of paintings. Nestled between the instantly recognisable red and yellow hues of Kanak Chanpa Chakma on either side lies Hamiduzzaman Khan's 2024 acrylic painting, 'Fishing Boats'. 

This first glimpse into the exhibition fully encapsulates the trend of vivid landscapes being featured alongside portraits or subject-focused paintings—an arrangement that somehow elevates the aura of all three works together.

Just imagine the signature red and yellow hues of the two Kanak Chanpa Chakma paintings, titled 'Meditation' and 'Festive'. These artworks are distinguished by multi-layered colours, rich textures, and carefully balanced compositions. Inspired by vibrant traditional attire and a tranquil spiritual ethos, they convey a poignant sense of cultural identity and harmony with nature. Then, in the middle, sits the vivid, simple, and serene picture of fishing boats by Khan, who unfortunately passed away last year.

Speaking of Hamiduzzaman Khan—a painter whose watercolours and acrylics captured rural landscapes, dense greenery, forests, and shifting skies—his work was often infused with expressive textures and bold, spontaneous brushstrokes influenced by abstract expressionism. We came across an old painting of his, which we had the privilege of learning about from the man himself during an exhibition a couple of years ago.

The artist once explained his 1963 watercolor painting, 'Chittagong Hill Tracts Area' saying,  "This is expressionism and is a vivid description of our landscape. You can see the cattleman tending to his herd of cows; you can see the water bodies and the hills of Chattogram in the backdrop. I wanted to capture such a scene. There isn't much detailing over here, though—just impressions."

It's not just the main hall area, but the smaller rooms inside the gallery that also boast of magnificent paintings. Be it Chandra Shekhar Dey's works with pens and  pencils, and other charcoal and wood cut works of  the other artists, each of the 38 paintings on display has a story to tell.

Collection, Not Words is running at Kaya till 16 March.

TBS Picks

The Sage by Mohammad Iqbal

Medium: Acrylic on canvas

The artwork captures a mystic whose weathered features and piercing blue eyes reflect a half-shadowed search for the sacred. Iqbal layers his canvas until the surface breathes, surrounding the sage in a meditative burst of red that contrasts with the cool, contemplative shadows of the face. 

In 'The Sage,' Mohammad Iqbal builds a shrine of pigment and prayer. Through expressive textures and symbolic colour, the artist transforms this solitary figure into a testimony of human resilience. It is a haunting study where silence echoes anguish and presence hints at transcendence.

Returning home by Sheikh Afzal

Medium: Acrylic and charcoal on canvas

'Returning Home' captures the rural heartbeat of Bangladesh. The piece portrays a woman in a vibrant red sari, embodying the tender bonds of family as she carries a child and leads a goat. Her expressive face is luminous, revealing a delicate balance between her outer form and inner essence. Set against expansive landscapes of verdant green, Afzal translates the rhythms of rural life into something poetic. 

Self by Ranjit Das

Medium: Acrylic on canvas

This large-scale  work features Ranjit's signature straight lines or bars that traverse the canvas, creating a rhythmic structure across a face caught in a moment of visceral emotion. He utilises dynamic lines and textures to balance the central figure against a structured, abstract background. The composition reflects a vibrant, thoughtful, and deeply personal exploration of identity, where the interaction between form and space reveals the inner essence of the artist himself.