We had traveled from London to Oxford to attend the show that was to a great extent encouraged and organized by Runi Khan — Khan is a London-based culture activist, founder & CEO of Culturepot Global. Khan has earlier showcased Hossain's work at Asia House in London.
The Oxford Meller Merceux galleries specialize in modern and contemporary art and showcase high profile work. They have a diverse selection of work that ranges from the likes of Picasso, Dali and Chagall, right through to Hepworth, Moore and now Hossain.
The Bangladeshi artist uses a range of media to produce mainly figurative artwork with vibrant colors. His paintings deal primarily with women and nature. His compositions are geometrically compact yet offer the viewer a feeling of great space. He seeks to question where the true path to happiness lies and encourages us to celebrate values, which are of global as well as of individual benefit. The importance of love and the need to respect ourselves, each other and the environment provide the thematic undercurrents of his latest series of works.
Hossain has around 22 years of experience of producing artwork for commissions and has exhibited throughout the world in Africa, India, Pakistan, US, UK, Nepal, UAE and Bangladesh. Though separated by time and distance British art critics and connoisseurs find a unique thread between the work of Hossain and British sculptor Henry Moore.
Meller Merceux director Aidan Meller said that Hossain's interests lay in the relationships we have with one another and the environment in which we live. Through his art he aimed to stimulate reflection on the human condition and the way in which we respond to the world around us. The pervasive influence of technology continued to divert attention away from personal relationships, conducted face to face in real time.
This is a troubling concern for Hossain, who believes strong romantic and familial connections are central to achieving happiness. His work explores this theme using the mother and child motif, as well as couples in loving embrace. The intermingling of forms, where one figure almost dissolves into the flesh of the other, expresses how dependent we are on one another for love, nourishment and comfort. This message is powerfully reinforced through his solo figures, which tend to emit an air of despondent melancholy.
Hossain’s aim is to translate emotion, the figures — as in Moore's work — are stylistic rather than realistic. Remaining featureless allows them to transcend individual differences and communicate a universal story: We need love in order to survive.
Another important thread of Hossain’s work concentrates on the relationship between man and nature. His art reflects that it is vital for this relationship to be harmonious and balanced if it is to improve our sense of happiness and well-being. He is particularly inspired by nature’s ability to act as a positive, grounding force and this is visually expressed in the form of abstract figures carefully interwoven into the fabric of the landscapes that surround them. The pieces resonate, both in form and ideal, with Moore's whose monumental female figures were designed to reflect the landscape while also becoming part of it, said Aidan Meller.
It was a tribute to Hossain's talent that majority of the 16 paintings on show were snapped up by private collectors days before the exhibition (July 15 - Aug. 15) had been declared open.
