Alakesh Ghosh
Alakesh Ghosh (; born 15 August 1950) is a Bangladeshi watercolour painter. He is known for his watercolour landscapes depicting rural Bengal, rivers, boats, and historical sites of Dhaka. He received the Shilpakala Padak in 2018.
Early life and education
Alakesh Ghosh was born on 15 August 1950 in Mymensingh District, East Bengal, Dominion of Pakistan (in the present-day Jamalpur District, Bangladesh). His village is close to the Brahmaputra River, where he spent his childhood. He lost his father at the age of eight.
He enrolled at the Government Institute of Arts (now the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Dhaka) in 1967 and graduated in 1972. His teachers included Zainul Abedin, Quamrul Hassan, Safiuddin Ahmed, and Mohammad Kibria.
Career
Ghosh began his career as a freelance artist and worked as a designer for the newspapers Dainik Bangla and Bichitra. He has participated in numerous group exhibitions in Bangladesh, Japan, and India. His first solo exhibition was held in Boston, United States, in 1981. In 1990, he participated in an art auction at Harvard University.
In 2007, the Bengal Foundation produced a 24-minute documentary on Ghosh titled Jal Chobi / Water Play, directed by Shabnam Ferdausi. In 2017, a solo exhibition of his work was held at the Bangladesh National Museum, where a book on his life and work, Life and Works: Alakesh Ghosh, was launched.
In 2025, he participated in the group exhibition "Art show brings together artists from five countries" organised by Gallery Cosmos.
Artistic practice
Ghosh works primarily in watercolour, though he has also used oils, acrylics, and mixed media. His subjects include riverine landscapes, rural life, boats, historical sites of Old Dhaka (including Panam Nagar and Sonargaon), and portraits. He has produced about 1,000 watercolours on Dhaka alone.
Ghosh has cited Mohammad Kibria, Rafiqun Nabi, Monirul Islam, Quamrul Hassan, and Safiuddin Ahmed as influences. He has also drawn inspiration from Western artists such as Vincent van Gogh, Paul Cézanne, and Paul Gauguin.
Selected exhibitions
Solo exhibitions
- 1981 – Boston, United States
- 2007 – "The Forms and Poetry of Nature", Bengal Gallery of Fine Arts, Dhaka
- 2013 – Dhaka Art Center, Dhaka
- 2017 – Bangladesh National Museum, Dhaka
Group exhibitions
- 2010 – "Rooted Creativity-4", Bengal Gallery of Fine Arts, Dhaka
- 2022 – 19th Asian Art Biennale Bangladesh
- 2025 – "Art show brings together artists from five countries", Gallery Cosmos, Dhaka
- 2026 – "Group show displays 500 artworks", National University, Gazipur
Awards and recognition
Ghosh received the Shilpakala Padak in 2018 from the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy. A book on his life and work, Life and Works: Alakesh Ghosh (ISBN 9789843397225), was published by Cosmos Books in 2016.
External links
- Alakesh Ghosh at Dhaka Art Center