monirul islam

b. 1943, Islampur, Bangladesh.

 Despite living abroad, Monirul Islam has contributed largely to the Bangladeshi art movement. He is thought to be of most influence in the 1960s, however, he has actually been able to continually change not only the regional Bangladeshi art scene, but the global one as well. His works showcase themes of humankind and its complexities, balances, and charms – branching out by using several mediums to express it. 

Upon achieving his Bachelor’s in Fine Arts, he was awarded a scholarship by the Spanish Government, which enabled him to further his education there. He has learned from several Bangladeshi, as well as Spanish artists, and established his own arts education known as ‘Monir’s School’ in Spain. 

EXHIBITIONS

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

Grupo 15 – Madrid, Spain, 1974. 

Taksim Sanat Gallery – Istanbul, Turkey, 1975. 

Kunsthalle Roelant – Amsterdam, Netheralands, 1980. 

Sultan Gallery – Kuwait, 1981.

Salon National des Galleries d’Art, Montreal, Canada Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University – Boston, Massachusetts, USA, 1984. 

Oxford Gallery – UK, 1985.

Bronx Museum of Arts – New York, USA, 1986.

The Art Society of the International Monetary Fund – Washington D.C., USA, 1987.

Galeria Lienzo y Papel – Sevilla, Spain, 1988. 

Gallery BAT; Gallery Atir; – Madrid, Spain; Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain, 1989. 

Sultan Gallery – Kuwait, 1989. 

Art Academy, Baroda University – Gujarat, India, 1990.

Gallery Torculo – Madrid, Spain, 1991. 

Gallery Tolmo – Toledo, Spain, 1992. 

Gallery Shilpangan – Dhaka, Bangladesh, 1993.

Gallery Estampa – Madrid, Spain, 1993. 

Sala Garcia Castanion; Gallery Zazpi – Caja de Ahorres Municipal de Pamplona, Spain; Zarautz, Spain, 1994.

Gallery Seiquer; Gallery Amaste; Museum of Goya – Madrid, Spain; Bilbao, Spain; Zaragoza, Spain, 1995. 

Gallery Thema – Valencia, Spain, 1996.

Gallery Estampa – Madrid, Spain, 1996.

Gallery Shilpangan – Dhaka, Bangladesh, 1997.

Honour of the International Triennial of Cairo – Egypt, 1997. 

Gallery Trinta – antiago de Compostela, Spain, 1998. 

Gallery Rotas – Islamabad, Pakistan, 1999. 

Gallery Chawkandi – Karachi, Pakistan, 2000. 

Gallery Estampa – Madrid, Spain, 2001. 

FLECHA – Madrid, Spain, 2003.

Gallery Varron – Salamanca, Spain, 2003. 

Art Fair of the Spanish Contemporary Art Gallery – Madrid, Spain, 2004. 

Gallery Shilpangan – Dhaka, Bangladesh, 2004.

Dionis Bennassar Gallery – Madrid, Spain, 2005. 

Dionis Bennassar Gallery – Madrid, Spain, 2006.

Gallery Nuevo Arte – Sevilla, Spain, 2007.

Bengal Gallery of Fine Arts – Dhaka, Bangladesh, 2008.

‘Rupture and Continuity’, Bengal Art Lounge – Dhaka, Bangladesh, 2011. 

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

‘Silpita Darshan’, Bengal Gallery of Fine Arts – Dhaka, Bangladesh, 2000. 

‘Dighal’, Bengal Gallery of Fine Arts – Dhaka, Bangladesh, 2001. 

‘Contemporary Bangladesh: Art from a Vibrant Culture’, European Commission Headquarters – Brussels, Belgium, 2008. 

Bangladesh Contemporary Art Week, UN Turkish Cultural & Tourism Center – New York City, New York, 2008. 

‘Living Colours and Dancing Lines’, Bengal Gallery of Fine Arts – Dhaka, Bangladesh, 2008. 

‘Kolkata-Dhaka’, Birla Academy of Art 7 Culture – Kolkata, West Bengal, India, 2009.

‘Rhythm of Colours’, Hunar Gallery – Dubai, UAE, 2009 

‘Rooted Creativity’, 10th Anniversary, Bengal Gallery of Fine Arts – Dhaka, Bangladesh, 2010. 

‘Contemporary Colours and Images from Bangladesh’, National Art Gallery – Male, Maldives, 2010. 

‘From Dhaka with Love’, South Asian Gallery of Arts – Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 2010.

‘Contemporary Paintings of Bangladesh – II’, Korea Foundation Cultural – 2011. 

‘Nepal Rendezvous II’, Siddharta Art Gallery – Kathmandu, Nepal, 2011.  

‘40 - Of Struggle and Creativity’, Bengal Gallery of Fine Arts – Dhaka, Bangladesh, 2012. 

‘The 151st Birth Anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore’ Art Gallery, City Centre – Agartala, Tripura, 2012. 

‘1/25’, Bengal Art Lounge – Dhaka, Bangladesh, 2012. 

15th Beijing International Art Expo, China World Trade Center – Beijing, China, 2012. 

‘The Excitement in Things Various’, Bengal Art Lounge – Dhaka, Bangladesh, 2012.

‘His Light, His Shadow’, Bengal Gallery of Fine Arts – Dhaka, Bangladesh, 2012. 

‘Ways of Seeing’, Bengal Art Lounge – Dhaka, Bangldesh, 2014. 

‘The Bridge Across’, Bengal Gallery – Kolkata, West Bengal, India, 2014. 

‘Songs of the Land’, Alliance Française de Melbourne – Melbourne, Australia, 2014. 

‘Ma’, Bengal Art Lounge – Dhaka, Bangladesh, 2014. 

‘Artistic Musings of the Greats’, Bengal Shilpalaya – Bangladesh, 2014.

‘2011- 2014 – A Restrospective’, Bengal Art Lounge – Dhaka, Bangladesh, 2014. 

‘MONOCHROME’, Bengal Gallery of Fine Arts – Dhaka, Bangladesh, 2014. 

‘Ex Officina Nostra’, Bengal Art Lounge – Dhaka, Bangladesh, 2015. 

AWARDS AND HONORS

5th International Exhibition of Prints – Ibiza, Spain, 1972.

Carmen Arozamena Prize – Madrid, Spain, 1974.

12th International Graphics Biennial – Ljublana, Yugoslavia, 1977.  

4th International Graphics Biennial – Fredrikstad, Norway, 1978, 82. 

6th International Exhibition of Drawings – Rijeka, Yugoslavia, 1978. 

International Graphics Biennial – Fredrikstad, Norway, 1982. 

World Print Four, Museum of Modern Art – California, USA, 1983.

2nd International Exhibition of Prints – Maximo Ramos, El Ferrol, Spain, 1985.

7th National Award – Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy, Bangladesh, 1985.

1st Prize in Graphic Art – Baghdad, Iraq, 1985. 

4th International Exhibition of prints – Maximo Ramos, El Ferrol, Spain, 1987. 

17th International Graphics Biennial – Ljublana, Yugoslavia, 1987.

National Award of Spain Accesit – Calcografia Nacional, Spain, 1993.

National Award of Spain – Calcografia Nacional, Spain, 1997.

Ekushey Padak, highest national award of Bangladesh – Bangladesh, 1999. 

National Award, Scholars of Bangladesh – Bangladesh, 2007.