Mohammad Eunus, a distinguished Bangladeshi artist and educator, has carved a unique path through the intricate terrain of contemporary abstraction. A pioneer in his own right, Eunus is best known for his emotionally resonant, textured canvases that transcend traditional form and realism. The work of Mohammad Eunus emerges as a profound, contemplative voice—one that speaks not through loud gestures, but through the quiet power of color, form, and emotional depth. His art is a journey through memory, solitude, and emotion—rendered not in figurative clarity but through layers of color, form, and silence. Eunus’s practice blends abstraction with a deep philosophical engagement with memory, identity, and inner feeling. His layered surfaces, meditative process, and evocative color fields have made him one of the most significant figures in the evolution of abstraction in Bangladesh. At the heart of Eunus’s artistic vision lies a deep belief
Art is not merely the expression of form or shape; it is the manifestation of an inner feeling that words often fail to convey
Through abstraction, he channels intangible emotions, those fleeting yet powerful sensations that often live beyond the grasp of language; feelings that defy literal depiction and yet strike a profound emotional chord. His canvases, often devoid of representational clarity, pulse with unspoken intensity.
In his world, empty spaces are not voids; they are loaded pauses, the echo of memory, and the quiet reflection of loss or longing.
His paintings become vessels for these emotions, inviting viewers to find echoes of their own experiences within his forms, structures, and empty spaces. A defining characteristic of Eunus’s art is his use of layered surfaces and tactile textures. His creative process is meditative and slow, beginning with a fleeting memory or impression, which then takes form through sketches, blocks of color, and the gradual building of layers. Using mixed media—paints, pigments, and often unconventional materials—he constructs surfaces that seem to breathe with history and emotion.
Each mark, crack, or layer tells a story
Eunus explains. This commitment to texture is not purely aesthetic; it is deeply symbolic, reflecting the layered nature of memory and lived experience. Texture itself is one of the most distinctive aspects of Eunus’s work. His paintings are not flat surfaces—they are terrains of emotion. Using paint, pigment, mixed media, and various materials, he slowly builds each canvas in stages. His process often begins with a sketch, a memory, or the echo of a sound. He applies layer upon layer, allowing the work to evolve gradually. For him, the act of layering is meditative: each crack, grain, or trace on the canvas becomes part of the narrative. Some works take days; others, months. But the moment of completion is never forced
A painting is finished
he says
when it stops asking for more—when it begins to speak in its own language.
His approach to color further illustrates this emotional complexity. For Eunus, color is both instinctive and intentional—sometimes emerging spontaneously from a mood, and at other times from deliberate reflection. He uses color to convey emotional density: a deep red might represent sorrow, a pale blue the haze of memory, and empty white space the weight of silence. “The tone, transparency, or tension of a color,” he says, “becomes a tool to construct an emotional spectrum.” Though deeply abstract in style, Mohammad Eunus’s work is intimately tied to the landscape, culture, and history of Bangladesh. From the shifting hues of the monsoon sky to the pulse of rivers and the quiet strength of rural life, his homeland is ever-present on his canvas. The country’s political upheavals, stories of struggle, and the ethos of resilience find expression not in overt symbolism but in mood and form. His early work was rooted in realism—so much so that he was awarded the prestigious Zainul Abedin Best Award during his time at the University of Dhaka’s Faculty of Fine Arts. But over time, abstraction became his chosen path. Inspired by artists like Antoni Tàpies, Joan Miró, and Bangladeshi colorist Mohammad Kibria, Eunus evolved a style that was unmistakably his own. “I believe I introduced certain abstract techniques in Bangladesh,” he reflects.
Abstraction gave me the freedom to explore deeper emotional layers, where form alone could not reach.
Eunus often returns to themes such as solitude, the flow of time, and the blurred boundary between past and present. Human relationships, forgotten moments, and the search for identity form a recurring undercurrent. His work doesn’t scream for attention—it quietly invites introspection. In this way, each painting becomes a mirror, allowing viewers to see fragments of their own lives reflected in the emotional terrain he lays out.
As a Bangladeshi artist, Mohammad Eunus’s work remains profoundly shaped by his homeland. The country’s seasons, folk traditions, historical traumas, and daily life have found subtle and symbolic expression in his art. He doesn’t depict the rivers and fields directly, but their presence is palpable in the rhythm of his brushstrokes, the flow of his compositions, and the emotional timbre of his color choices. Stories of political struggle, liberation, and cultural resilience are transformed into abstract visual languages—suggestive, emotional, and open to interpretation.
Even in the abstract, his paintings speak of a specific geography. They carry the scent of wet soil, the sound of rickshaw wheels on old town roads, and the emotional weight of national memory. In this way, Eunus’s work becomes a bridge between the personal and the collective, the local and the universal.
This introspective quality is partly rooted in Eunus’s own life journey. Growing up surrounded by nature, he was enchanted by fog, rain, and the vast fields of rural Bangladesh. These sensations formed his emotional vocabulary. Eunus discovered early on that art was his most honest form of expression. His attraction to form, texture, and visual storytelling was nurtured by the fog-drenched fields, the sound of rain, and the soft river breezes of his youth. A particularly formative experience was attending the 3rd Pakistan National Jamboree in Karachi during his youth. The creative camp decorations sparked an artistic awakening that never left him. Raised in a culturally rich family, Eunus dabbled in pottery, kite design, and painting from a young age—early acts of creation that laid the foundation for his mature work. These early sensory and experiential influences laid the foundation for a life in art—a life not just of making images but of discovering meaning.
To Mohammad Eunus, art is not isolated from society—it is deeply embedded in it. “In times of political or social unrest, art serves as a language of protest, awareness, and unity,” he says. His belief in art’s role as a social force is evident in his commitment to nurturing young artists and engaging with urgent issues such as climate change, food security, and gender equality.
After retiring from the Institute of Fine Arts at Dhaka University, Eunus became more active with the Art Bangla Foundation, an interdisciplinary organization he helped establish. Through initiatives like the Bangla Art Fest, he has created platforms for emerging and established artists alike, encouraging dialogue, collaboration, and community engagement. These festivals have brought together hundreds of students, professional artists, and international guests to explore the transformative power of art.
As a teacher, Eunus has influenced generations of artists. He believes the educator’s role extends beyond technical instruction: it must also inspire independent thinking, conceptual depth, and creative courage. His vision is not just to teach students how to paint but to help them find their voice. “Every artist must build their individuality,” he emphasizes. “Imitation is natural in the beginning, but true growth comes from internal exploration.”
He encourages young artists to remain rooted in their culture, yet open to global perspectives. His advice to the next generation? Be patient. Be authentic. Stay connected to your lived experience. Embrace criticism. And above all, remain true to your inner truth. Creativity, for Eunus, is not spontaneous magic—it is a cultivated rhythm. He carves out time for solitude, often walking by rivers, listening to birds, or simply sitting under trees. Nature is both his muse and his mirror. He keeps detailed sketchbooks, collects thoughts and impressions, and often starts a canvas with no fixed plan. He talks to his paintings as they form, and allows them to respond in their own time. Sometimes, he even creates challenges within the painting—only to resolve them again, turning conflict into creation. What does Mohammad Eunus hope viewers take away from his work? Not a literal interpretation, but an emotional dialogue. His paintings are not meant to be “understood” in the conventional sense. Instead,
he invites viewers to feel—to listen to the silences, trace the textures, and reflect on their own internal landscapes.
For him, a painting is complete when it no longer asks for more—when it begins to speak back, not just to the artist but to the world.
In a time when speed, spectacle, and surface often dominate the art world, Mohammad Eunus offers something quieter and far more enduring: an invitation to pause, feel, and remember.
His art is not just seen—it is experienced. It is not a window to the world, but a mirror to the soul. And in that mirror, viewers often discover something deeply personal, something eternal.
