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Lot Essay
"[Rashid] Choudhury was born into a Zamindar aristocratic family in a village called Haroa in what is now called Bangladesh. Rural life in Bengal at that time thrived under a rich synthesis of Muslim and Hindu culture, and the young Choudhury’s imagination was captivated by the colourful mythology that wasn’t bound by religion. He was most attracted to the myths with intense movement in them, and he naturally gravitated towards goddesses such as Durga, whose ten hands swirled in different directions and was celebrated annually in the Autumn Bengali Durga Pooja, as well as her Kali avatar and the Radha-Krishna archetype."
"[…] Just as the plurality of culture he was exposed to in his childhood inspired the subject matter in his work, his diverse education inspired his technique […] The turning point in his career, however, was his time in Paris from 1960 to 1964 studying sculpture, fresco and tapestry at the Academy Julian and Beaux Arts in Paris, where he was awarded first prize for his frescoes. Choudhury was taken with the work of Marc Chagall and his transformation of myth into stained glass and other traditional forms of art. His teacher, the famed tapestry artist Jean Lurçat, inspired the artist to work with tapestries despite the incredible expense at the time, which caused Choudhury intense financial difficulties up until his death. Choudhury returned to Dhaka in 1964 and soon after founded the first single loom tapestry factory in Bangladesh (which used indigenous material such as jute, vegetable dyes, silk, and wool)” (Dhaka Art Summit 2016, exhibition catalogue, p. 161).
"[…] Just as the plurality of culture he was exposed to in his childhood inspired the subject matter in his work, his diverse education inspired his technique […] The turning point in his career, however, was his time in Paris from 1960 to 1964 studying sculpture, fresco and tapestry at the Academy Julian and Beaux Arts in Paris, where he was awarded first prize for his frescoes. Choudhury was taken with the work of Marc Chagall and his transformation of myth into stained glass and other traditional forms of art. His teacher, the famed tapestry artist Jean Lurçat, inspired the artist to work with tapestries despite the incredible expense at the time, which caused Choudhury intense financial difficulties up until his death. Choudhury returned to Dhaka in 1964 and soon after founded the first single loom tapestry factory in Bangladesh (which used indigenous material such as jute, vegetable dyes, silk, and wool)” (Dhaka Art Summit 2016, exhibition catalogue, p. 161).