Bangladeshi artist Kamrul Hasan Lipu is presenting his first solo exhibition in Japan, bringing 41 paintings inspired by Bengali culture, memory and identity to Gallery Shimizu in Yokohama.
Titled DOT: The Beginning of Everything, the exhibition opened on 20 October and runs until 25 October. The paintings feature women’s faces, water lilies, sari patterns and folk-art elements, reflecting Lipu’s ties to Bangladesh and his experiences of living in Japan.
The exhibition opened at 3pm on Tuesday, with Matsudo City Council member Mir Kazue as the chief guest. Japanese artist Asano Yasunori, paper-cutting artist Mita Chikako and Gallery Shimizu representative Shimizu Kazue also attended.
The title captures Lipu’s artistic philosophy: a dot develops into a line, a line forms a shape, and shapes combine to create the visible world. The idea mirrors his own journey, from drawing in childhood and years of practice to his experiences in Bangladesh and Japan.
Women’s faces recur throughout Lipu’s work. Details such as sari folds, jewellery, flowers tucked into hair and facial expressions evoke familiar elements of Bengali life. His paintings explore beauty alongside sensitivity, dignity and emotional resilience.
Works including The Bede Girl, Madhabi, Mrinalini and Beyond the Blue reflect different dimensions of this exploration.
Lipu works with acrylic, oil and mixed media, moving between figurative imagery and abstraction. Layers of colour, flowing lines, brushstrokes and textures give his subjects varied forms and expressions.
The exhibition catalogue features messages from artists Rafiqun Nabi and Jamal Ahmed, Professor Shahjahan Ahmed Bikash, and Japanese graphic designer and art critic Ikufumi Fukuzawa. Their reflections discuss Lipu’s sustained artistic practice, use of colour and texture, engagement with cultural memory and willingness to experiment.
Gallery Shimizu is open daily from 11am to 6pm. On the exhibition’s final day, 25 October, visitors can view the paintings until 4pm.
