Shahabuddin Ahmed’s art bridges memory, movement and human resilience.
Shahabuddin Ahmed’s Waves of Impasto was a compelling exploration of one of the most celebrated modern artists. Curated by Jyotirmoy Bhattacharya and presented by Prashant Tulsyan, Tulsyan Family Beneficiary Trust, the exhibition was hosted at Bikaner House, New Delhi from July 5 – July 12, 2026.
The artist’s unique practice bridges memory, movement and human resilience. The exhibition focused on his masterful use of impasto, which involves applying thick, tactile layers of paint that energise the surface with emotion. The exhibition invited viewers to engage intimately with Shahabuddin’s remarkable vision and artistic intelligence that characterise his art.
Shahabuddin Ahmed began his artistic journey at the Dhaka Art College with a conviction to become an artist. His exceptional talent soon earned him a government scholarship to study at the prestigious École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris, where his artistic language would undergo a profound transformation.
Shahabuddin Ahmed’s works are immediately recognisable for their powerful dynamism and distinctive visual language. Executed primarily in oil on canvas, his paintings reveal a strong engagement with European modernism, particularly the influence of Francis Bacon, whom he met during his years in Paris.
Despite the stylistic resonances, his subject matter remains deeply rooted in the ethos of his homeland. His compositions often present monumental, baroque-like figures suspended in charged spatial fields, figures that appear to surge forward in search of light, energy and transcendence.
Over the decades, Shahabuddin Ahmed has received international acclaim. In 1992, he was honoured at the Olympiad of Arts in Barcelona, Spain, as one of the “50 Master Painters of Contemporary Art.” In 2014, the French Government awarded him its highest distinction in the arts, the Chevalier de l’ Ordred des Arts et des Lettres (Knight in the Order of Arts and Letters).
In 2017, he became the first foreign artistin- residence at Rashtrapati Bhavan under former President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee, where his solo exhibition ‘Shanti’ was inaugurated in the museum’s art gallery.
