I was first introduced to cerebral artist Mobasshier Mojumder by renowned painter Tajuddin Ahmed at Tivoli Gallery in Gulshan. At first glance, it seemed to me that the artist was purely bohemian and reclusive. Afterwards, we frequently met; I saw his artworks and discussed on his working process and method at his studio-cum-office in Banani. The office was spacious and his paintings (some half-done) were crisscrossed across different rooms.

Mobasshier is a self-taught painter. His umbilical cord with art has seemingly been intact since his childhood. He is simultaneously a non-objective, non-figurative and naturist painter. All of his images pulsate with life provocatively and dramatically. These elements make his paintings seem an authentic part of our surroundings with all our conflicts and achievements. His thought process is seemingly eloquent and has a touch of contemplation.

Mobasshier was born and brought up in a semi-urban milieu in Chandpur. In his childhood, he used bean leaves and seeds of Malabar spinach to draw on paper. During that time, he was not properly acquainted with brush, colour, spatula and ink. It is very natural that as a painter Mobasshier had been greatly influenced by his surrounding ambiance at that period. During that time, his mode of expression was pure realism and the painter went into the details of his subjects. The quiet and serene location tremendously influenced him and he painted tranquil nature, the splendour of the river and the simple people who were really detached from the urban life. Through the artworks, he attempted to create an atmosphere that defined the daily chores of riverine people and villagers.

Mobasshier Mojumder is very courageous and has a strong control over canvas and large-sized papers. He never feels afraid to work with large canvases. To him, a large canvas gives the opportunity to express himself properly. Mobasshier has worked with different mediums and his mode of expression is pure abstract expressionism. Abstract expressionism had been developed by American painters such as Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko and Willem de Kooning in the 1940s and 1950s. It is often characterised by gestural brush-strokes or mark-making, and the impression of spontaneity.

Mobasshier builds up his lines, forms and compositions in an individual mode. He also recurrently searches the boundaries of expressions with scribbles, lines, arrows, broken lines, loops and curls, squares, semi-oval and other forms. He has meticulously gone through various phases of experimentation with colours, textures, lines, and tones. For him, media is very significant in his mode of expression and he likes to experiment with different mediums. The artist always feels that paintings are an appearance of the thoughts, the inner world and what literally makes the daily life of an artist. His works show the world the way he sees it, and manifest the essence of the things he has seen. His paintings are also mirror of his mind frame. His lines signify the modern mode of expression. Some of his paintings clearly highlight pure composition which conveys his fondness for shadowy lines and tiny forms.

Mobasshier is a secular and socially conscious artist by nature. He always lends his thought for the commoners and portrays their sufferings, pains and agonies. He began his career as an abstract painter. With the passage of time, he has refined himself. Consequently, new lines, forms and different types of objects have been added to his works. His recent works have completely transformed and opened a new window for the viewer. The changes are composition, technique and form-oriented. The forms give a cerebral and contemplative look to his works. His works now are sparser. The use of line and object is minimal; colours are bold and bright. Tonal variations are noticeable at his works and he is continuously exploring the boundaries of expression with the varieties of familiar and unfamiliar forms, primitive motifs as well as numerous indigenous forms.

When Mobasshier gets immersed in his paintings, he loses himself. He is recognised for nurturing enough gallantry to destroy his labourious productions if he finds them unsatisfactory and therefore to create a new pattern, as the world of painting surrounds him from all possible dimensions. He most certainly does not seem to relent and on the contrary cannot help but breathe life into each painting. In this very way Mobasshier applies colours and creates forms, lines and compositions. He puts layers upon layers of paint and draws forms and objects continuously, until he feels that he has achieved what he has been striving for. The outcome is a contemplative, subtly balanced arrangement of colours and space that does not fail to draw an art enthusiast's eyes.

As an experimentalist, Mobasshier is fond of discovering the characteristics of the materials. He makes the ground of a painting in a certain way. He applies colour directly, piling up both thick and thin layers according to the requirements on the paintings. Sometimes he etches the painting with different tools and nails for creating uneven surface and unshaped forms. Rough ground assists to absorb colour and helps to create desired texture. Then he applies colour and again engraves the ground for finding his right imagery. The layers provide a distinctive touch to Mobasshier's work and he has always deeply concentrated on applying colours and using materials. Over the years, Mobasshier has developed this technique, which is very expensive and time consuming, requiring immense effort and devotion.

Mobasshier's themes and approaches are closely connected to physiological experiments. He has also added illusion and emotion to his paintings. His use of colours is thick, expressive and nostalgic. His paintings are splendid in terms of his personal techniques and in creating the effects of shade and essence of nature. His paintings' have also truly focused on the themes which are closely connected to our surrounding atmospheres, socio-economic and political issues. He mainly gets inspiration from the power of imagination which he has nurtured in his soul over a large span of periods. He truly feels life, eternal truths of time and reminiscence of his childhood days. He gets the exact meaning of life from experiences and observations. Over the spans of time, Mobasshier has tried to establish himself as a devoted painter cum-an-abstinent human being.

Mobasshier is an analytical painter. Many of his paintings are composition and form based -- rectangular, vertical, horizontal, oval, half-curved and full curved. The artist has brought many symbols into his works. Space division in his compositions is dramatic; with big spaces kept flat while smaller areas have several tiny patterns. It is obvious that the artist has spent a considerable time to create the illusion of space.

Mobasshier paintings look very distinctive and individualistic because of his meticulous use of colour and deliberate composition. Most of his works can be regarded as abstract- expressionism where colour is most dominant aspect and forms synchronise well with colours, spaces and compositions. His distinctive techniques and compositions make him stand apart from his contemporaries. He portrays nature and its mysterious phases through his personal notion, experience and thought process. It can be easily said his paintings have been recorded through his inner feelings and intense observation of his living place, life and reminiscence. He uses sweeping strokes, which bring an animated hallmark to his works. His strokes, lines and sprinkled dots are simultaneously natural and create a language which is alien to us. His colour is mellow and appears rich and smooth. His soul is always on the look out for space where the black, green, azure, red, crimson, off-white and yellow are filled with great joy and ecstasy. Remarkable forms and various suggestive lines create a unique language in his paintings.

Mobasshier scrupulously paints with love and passion, and this artistic activity helps him to get rid of all kinds of pains, agonies and sufferings. Paint allows him to liberate himself and immerse into a spiritual world. Spiritualism is very closely connected to his works and when he engrosses himself into the world of art, he transcends into a divine life. His works show no tendency towards commercialism and publicity, art brings to him a new horizon where he completely finds himself. His modes of expressions are abstract expressionism, pure-abstraction and neo-expressionism. His paintings are distinguished by both strong and soft shades, scrupulous strokes and mellow textures.

As an ardent innovator, Mobasshier has been constantly experimenting with lines, forms, compositions and textures. He always tries to create something novel and refreshing which is dissimilar to others. The painter has worked in varied mediums for exploring the ins and outs of his mediums and has been constantly exploring to get the grip of the essence of individual mediums. His dexterity has also been proven in his application of colours and textures. Sometimes texture is the main ingredient for his paintings to allow him to emerge completely. His works include large and medium vibrant canvases. His works appear more patterned as space is very limited.

Mobasshier is a true naturist painter. His keen aptitude is to draw the philosophical aspect of nature, volume and colour and to create sensitive lyrical compositions. His acrylics and oils-both are fresh, contemplative and provide the spectators with a sense of bliss. His artworks are lively and have the right kind of restraint. He knows where to stop. He feels rhythm is the main root of all creations. Nature has its own rhythm and his main focus is to unfold the pulses of nature. Loneliness and quietness are the most important features in the works.

Besides being a good painter, Mobasshier is also a good craftsman, if you may. He has experimented with techniques and materials and brought them to a happy osmosis on paper and canvas. Sometimes it seems he is more conscious about space and forms. The forms lend a contemplative quality to his works. Presently, in his works forms synchronize consciously with colours, spaces and compositions in a somewhat cognitive prefiguration. Mobasshier portrays nature and its mysterious phases through his personal notion, experience and thought process. The abstraction in his works comes naturally as he has adopted a unique language for his own way of expression. His manipulation of forms, scattered drawings and rough brush strokes create a language simultaneously natural and contrived. His palette swings between mellow and bold, strokes between rugged and controlled conjuring up a visual playground for joy and ecstasy.

The writer is an art critic and cultural curator.