A leading Bangladeshi artist, Laila Sharmeen paints not only with colour but also with memory, philosophy, and quiet rebellion. Her works carry the scent of rivers, the rhythm of forgotten poems, and the dream of a greener, kinder world. With more than 50 international exhibitions and 11 solo shows, Laila’s art blends the spirit of Bengal with the questions of modern life — in soft strokes, layered textures, and symbolic forms.
Her journey is rooted in home, yet she has carried her artistic vision across continents — from Seoul to New York, Paris to Croatia.
Whether in watercolour, acrylic, or mixed media, her works speak of nature, literature, and human emotion. They tell stories that feel both intimate and universal.
Recognition has followed her. In 2011, she won the Purchase Prize at the 16th Space International Print Biennial at the OCI Museum of Art in Seoul. In 2014, her works appeared at Artexpo New York, alongside over 400 global artists. Earlier, in 2013, she participated in Art Shopping at the Carrousel du Louvre in Paris, introduced by Argentine curator María Elena Beneito, where her layered, symbolic mixed media works drew attention.
But for Laila, painting is never only about technique. At the World Art Games in Croatia (2013), she turned a street into a living canvas with a 40-foot collaborative painting of Bengali motifs and Bangla alphabets. Artists from around the world, locals, and tourists joined in, as live music filled the air. Art became a community celebration.
Her work has since appeared in Argentina’s International Contemporary Art Exhibition and Mexico’s Effectto Biennale. Permanent collections at the National Museum of Bangladesh, Izmir Cultural Center, the Central Bank of Bangladesh, and Grameenphone also house her paintings.
Despite global acclaim, her message remains grounded: to nurture empathy for nature.
“We have to consider the Earth as one big country,” she says
“People should not put material things above nature and relationships.”
This belief flows through her latest solo exhibition, Golden Bengal, which opened in May at Alliance Française de Dhaka — her first after a 13-year gap. The 30 works in mixed media and acrylic, created mostly over the past two years, are filled with rivers, paddy fields, birds, fish, butterflies, and skies. Each element is not only part of nature but also a metaphor for life, memory, and change.
Golden Bengal weaves together the colours of two worlds — the lush landscapes of Bangladesh and the blooming spring of Canada, where Laila moved in 2010. “We had to adjust to a new life, and I didn’t have the space or time for a solo exhibition,” she reflects. “I made works for festivals and group shows abroad, but Golden Bengal finally brought everything together.”
Distance only deepened her attachment to home. Memories of kites, banana trees, old houses, and the books she once read in secret at her Gendaria library returned vividly. These fragments shaped her new style — textured yet spacious, inviting the viewer to imagine and complete the story.
Her art is also inseparable from philosophy and literature. From Jibanananda Das to T.S. Eliot, Kant to Foucault, her inspirations traverse time and thought. But at the centre lies her emotional bond with Bangladesh. “This land is sacred. Our loved ones rest here,” she says. “Even if I live far away, I will always paint for Bangladesh.”
Her exhibition received warm feedback, reassuring her that her message resonates. “I’m truly happy,” she says. “I will keep working to inspire love for nature and country.”
For Laila, art is resistance against consumerism’s blindness. “We are destroying the environment, and the earth is heating up. We must act and dream of a greener world again.”
With her brush, she keeps that dream alive. In her imagined Bengal — golden, vibrant, and full of life — there is still hope. A reminder that art, when made with love and truth, can return us to what we have forgotten to hold on to.
