This exhibition catalogue was published for Shahabuddin Ahmed’s solo exhibition SHANTI (Peace), held at the National Art Gallery of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy in March 2018. Organised in collaboration with Ganges Art Gallery, Kolkata, the month-long exhibition brought together works reflecting the artist’s enduring engagement with freedom, humanity, conflict and the aspiration for peace.
Shahabuddin, a freedom fighter of the Liberation War of 1971, conceived Shanti as a response to a world marked by conflict and insecurity. Through his vigorous figures, expressive movement and powerful use of colour, the exhibition connected his personal experience of war with a universal appeal for peace, love and human solidarity. The exhibition had previously been presented in Kolkata in 2015.
The catalogue features 29 artworks from the exhibition, together with a message from Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, a write-up by Liaquat Ali Lucky, Director General of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy, and an essay by prominent art critic Moinuddin Khaled. Together, the works and writings provide a record of Shahabuddin’s artistic response to history, freedom and the continuing human desire for peace.
