August 18, 2015, Darien, CT… This September, the Geary Gallery of Darien presents “Expressions of Color” featuring the breathtakingly colorful paintings of Mystic, CT resident, Sunil Howlader. His exhibit runs September 1 – 30 at the Gallery, located at 576 Boston Post Road in Darien.
Howlader’s stunning paintings combine the beauty of naturalistic representation with the expressive elements of abstraction. Oftentimes, a single painting may transition between the realms of representation and abstraction. This is the style Howlader loves, known as semi-abstract expressionism, because it gives him the freedom to add emotions, feelings and ideas to what he sees.
Sunil expresses emotion through meaningful lines, forms and colors; he uses bold strokes, dabbles and scribbles to represent the emotional activities of the psyche. His paintings of nature contain much symbolism, with water lilies symbolizing beauty, fish representing abundance and horses depicting our struggle to achieve conscious or unconscious goals. Exploring subjects such as past and future journeys, Howlader uses white to symbolize the future, blue for dreaming (childhood series) and green for life.
In 1991, Howlader earned a Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A) from the Department of Drawing & Painting Institute of Fine Art at the University of Dhaka in Bangladesh. In the summer of 2000, he attended the International Artist-in-Residence program at the Griffis Art Center in New London, CT.
He has received many awards throughout his career, starting in 1986 with the "Class Best" for Pen Sketch during the annual exhibition at the Institute of Fine Art, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. In 1989, he won "Honorable Mention" in watercolor at the Painting & Photography Exhibition of CARDMA, in Bangladesh.
Howlader’s art continued to receive recognition in 2000, when he earned two awards: “'2nd Prize'' at the Late Spring Juried Show organized by the Lyme Art Association in CT and ''First Prize'' at the International Miniature Art Competition in Florida. In 2001, he earned another "First Prize" at the Open Juried Show from the Mystic Art Association in CT. Other accolades include: 2008, "Overall Excellence" at the Members' Show, Mystic Art Association in CT; 2010: "CAFA Painting Awards" at the Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts; and in 2012, "The Ralph Fabri Medal" at the 58th Annual National Society of Painters in Casein and Acrylic, from the Salmagundi Club in NY.
He currently has collections at the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (National Academy of Fine & Performing Arts), and UNICEF Netherlands, America, France, Germany, India, and Singapore.
To view Howlader’s work, visit our online gallery: http://www.gearygallery.com/?artists=sunil-howlader
His exhibit runs September 1 – 30, and his paintings are available for acquisition. All are welcome, and admission is free.
Geary Gallery is open to the public Tuesday through Saturday, 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and is located at 576 Boston Post Road, Darien, CT 06820. For more information, call (203) 655-6633 or visit www.gearygallery.com.