Through fluid color and calligraphic forms, Kazi Ghiyasuddin bridges Bengal’s lush landscapes with Japan’s philosophical minimalism. Music, landscape, and memory recur throughout his work, where nature often emerges as a place of refuge. “I take forms from nature and portray them in my own unique way…I look at natural forms, their placement, and their details. But I compose the artworks in my mind.” Among his influences is Swiss German artist Paul Klee, whose abstract style inspired Ghiyasuddin to create artwork that captures the essence of nature, rather than depict it realistically.
Ghiyasuddin graduated from the Government College of Art and Crafts (now Faculty of Fine Art, University of Dhaka) and later earned his master’s degree in fine art from the University of Chittagong, Bangladesh. After moving to Japan, he was notably the first Bangladeshi to earn a doctorate in art from the National University of Fine Arts and Music in Tokyo. The Japanese government awarded him the Emperor’s Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays, in 2018 in recognition of his contributions to cultural exchange between Bangladesh and Japan. He currently splits his time between Dhaka and Tokyo.
