A collection of abstract artist Najma Akter’s work entitled “Songs from the Abyss” opens the Art Pavilion’s 2015 season this weekend.

Najma is a modern artist from Bangladesh and is one of only a few whose forte is abstract painting. The diverse and energetic body of work on display at the Art Pavilion is a testament to the skills she has acquired along with a wide range of influences from the key figures in 20th Century art from across the globe. She completed an B.F.A (Bachelor of Fine Arts) and M.F.A. in the Oriental Arts Department of Institute of Fine Arts at Dhaka University, the city where she still lives.

Her early training allowed her to master a variety of techniques including water colour washes which have fed into her later works in terms of layering and transparency and though she has developed her oeuvre from the figurative to the abstract while always utilising the lyrical fluidity which is not only central to Oriental Arts but reflects the monsoon climate which is typical of Bangladesh. 

The power of nature as exemplified by the rainy season ties in with her love of landscape and the watery liminal spaces inhabited by marshland and rivers which were the outdoor backdrop to her childhood. Indeed nature, memory, and emotional states of being are all prevalent themes which are reflected though her use of textures and colours which range from evocative but dark and sombre palettes to more vibrant and joyful hues which sometimes allude to the earth or sky and are sometimes more obviously rooted in the urban environment. In addition to having attended workshops, symposia and artists residency programmes in a number of countries, her international stature is growing through solo exhibitions in Kolkata (India), Agartala (India) Penang (Malayasia) and Berlin. This is her first exhibition in London. Most of her work is acrylic on paper or canvasp

The exhibition runs from Sat 7 Feb 15 – Mon 9 Feb 15 at The Art Pavilion, Mile End Park, Clinton Road, 12.30 -9.30PM