16/12/2025
Farzana Ahmed Urmi (born March 2, 1980) is a prominent Bangladeshi expressionist artist based in Dhaka, recognized for her emotion-imbued portraiture and experimentation across various media, including acrylic, printmaking, and sculpture.
Artistic Style and Background
Urmi's work is characterized by a blend of abstraction and figuration that explores the "human condition" through intense color, form, and texture. Her portraits often feature unsettling expressions and wide eyes, reflecting themes of sadness, emptiness, and loneliness.
Education: She earned her MFA in Printmaking from the Faculty of Fine Art, University of Dhaka in 2010.
Key Themes: Much of her work is inspired by her experiences as an artist-in-residence at the IOM Rohingya Cultural Memory Centre in Cox's Bazar, where she facilitated embroidery workshops and documented the stories of Rohingya women.
Major Projects and Exhibitions
Solo Exhibitions: Her notable solo shows include her 2008 debut at Chuwa Gallery in Tokyo, "Sluggish Water" (2011) at Standard Chartered Bank Dhaka, and "Known/Unknown" (2014) at Dhaka Art Center.
2025 Recent Works: In 2025, she participated in the group exhibition "I : Under Construction" at Alliance Française Chittagong and debuted "Dreamscape of Sultana's," a 53-foot acrylic scroll inspired by Begum Rokeya's feminist utopia.
International Presence: Her art has been displayed at the Beijing Biennale (2012) and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in Tokyo (2009). The British Museum holds several of her early experimental prints in its permanent collection.
Career Milestones
Awards: She received the Media Best Award in Printmaking (2001) and the Artist Safiuddin Ahmed Scholarship (2010).
Residencies: Urmi has completed residencies in Barcelona (Can Serrat, 2013) and South Korea (Cheongmok Art Museum, 2024), where she focused on capturing Korean portraits through an "inner journey".
Her original works and prints are available through galleries such as Bengal Foundation and Saatchi Art.