| Powerful childhood memories of the cadence of rural life, rivers and nature’s abundance, are foundational in the works of Kazi Abdul Baset. Schooled in the older part of the city, Baset easily identified with the wit and wry humour of the Dhaka natives. At the Art Institute, he blossomed under the care of Zainul Abedin, Safiuddin Ahmed, Anwarul Haque and Quamrul Hassan. Baset did his higher studies in Chicago and later joined the Dhaka Art Institute as a teacher. Figurations with cubist overtones brought women, mothers, and daughters as predominant themes in his work. The image of a mother waiting for her son to return from the war is central to these. Baset received the Ekushey Padak (1991), among other honors and awards. |