Today marks the fifth death anniversary of eminent Bangladeshi printmaker Kalidas Karmakar.
Born on January 10, 1946 in Faridpur to a family of goldsmiths and artisans, Kalidas cemented his legacy as one of the most diverse and well-respected artists of Bangladesh.
He was one of the advisers of Gallery Cosmos who initiated the state-of-the-art printmaking studio Atelier-71 at the gallery venue in Cosmos Centre, Malibagh in the capital, for which he had always shown great dedication. He was engaged with the gallery till his death on October 18, 2019.
Kalidas was naturally attracted to crafts, drawing and painting. To begin with his artistic endeavours, he completed his two-years preliminary degree in fine arts at the Institute of Fine Arts, Dhaka University, in 1964.
He then went on to complete his graduation from the Government College of Fine Arts and Crafts in Kolkata and achieved the prestigious degree in 1969.
Known as the ‘Alluvial Man’ in the country's art sphere, Kalidas began his career with painting through assembling metal objects in the 1970s and with prints, he began to explore mythic and tantric images in the 1980s, opening up new possibilities for etching and aquatint.
Marking the esteemed artist's fifth death anniversary, Gallery Cosmos and Cosmos Atelier-71 Artistic Director Sourav Chowdhury said: “For our Gallery Cosmos and Cosmos Atelier-71, Kalidas Karmakar has always been a family member and a guardian angel since its inception. Although his sudden departure has left a void, we are glad to honour his legacy, and we know that Kali da is always with us in spirit.”
A maestro of printmaking, especially viscosity printing, Kalidas Karmakar’s diverse artworks featuring metallic and other objects, handmade paper, and oil on canvas prints have been widely exhibited throughout South Asia, the Middle East, Europe, the United States and many other places across the world.
His maiden solo art exhibition was held at Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy on August 7, 1976.
Throughout his acclaimed career, he received multiple prestigious scholarships and fellowships including the Polish Government Scholarship in Graphic Art at the Warsaw Academy of Fine Art, Warsaw University; the French Government Superior Scholarship in Fine Arts for research in multicolour etching; Japan Foundation Fellowship on Japanese Woodblock Printing at Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music; ICCR Special Scholarship for research in Contemporary Modern Sculpture, West Bengal Lalit Kala Academy Studio; and Asian Cultural Council New York, Fellowship with Artist Residency program in the US.
For his remarkable contribution to the Bangladeshi fine arts, Kalidas Karmakar was awarded the Shilpakala Padak in 2016 and the Ekushey Padak in 2018.