EMBRACE OF THE EARTH solo exhibition opens at AFD

Solo exhibition embrace the earth of Rajib Ahasen began at AFD on Friday.

Alliance Française de Dhaka is pleased to announce the successful inaugural opening of Embrace of the Earth, the first solo exhibition by Bangladeshi artist Rajib Ahasen. The opening ceremony was held on 24 April 2026 at 6:00 PM at La Galerie, in the presence of distinguished guests, art enthusiasts, and members of the cultural community. The event was further enriched by the presence of Mofidul Hoque, Trustee of the Liberation War Museum and Executive Member of Alliance Française de Dhaka; critic Moinuddin Khaled; eminent artist Professor Jamal Ahmed and Kamal Uddin, Associate Professor, Department of Drawing and Painting, Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Dhaka.

Embrace of the Earth presents a deeply personal and evocative body of work rooted in memory, place, and transformation. Featuring approximately thirty-six paintings in watercolor and acrylic, the exhibition offers a compelling visual journey that bridges the intimacy of rural life with the evolving realities of urban existence.

Having spent his formative years immersed in the textures and rhythms of village life, the dust-laden earthen roads, quiet canals, expansive riverbanks, and agrarian landscapes, Rajib Ahasen draws from lived experience rather than constructed narrative. The lives of ordinary people and the unembellished beauty of their surroundings have organically shaped his artistic language. These elements emerge in his works as intrinsic impressions, deeply embedded over time.

In this exhibition, the artist reflects on his gradual transition from the vibrancy and openness of rural life to the structured and often dissonant pace of urban living. His paintings capture this shift with sensitivity—where nostalgia, adaptation, and identity intersect. Marked by expressive brushwork, layered textures, and a nuanced interplay of light and color, the works evoke both memory and immediacy.

Embrace of the Earth is both a tribute to the landscapes and people that shaped the artist’s early years and an exploration of belonging and change. It invites viewers to pause, reflect, and reconnect with the elemental ties between land, memory, and self.

Rajib Ahasen is a Bangladeshi artist whose practice is shaped by his lived experiences and a strong connection to place and memory. He completed his Maolana degree (Masters equivalent) from a Qawmi Madrasah in 2014, and has since actively participated in both national and international exhibitions. His notable participations include the 6th Friendship Art Exhibition and the 7th Kahal International Art Exhibition at Shilpakala Academy, Dhaka, as well as the 8th Kahal International Art Fair in Tokyo, Japan. – Press release