Shahid Kabir was born in Barishal, Bangladesh, in 1949. Kabir graduated from the Government College of Arts and Crafts in Dhaka in 1969 and taught at the same institution for nine years, until 1980. Kabir attained fame for his series on Lalon Fakir as early as in the 1970s. His paintings of the phase saw him apply folksy interpretation of Lalon’s life and work and in most of his works textual elements was a novel addition. Alongside images of the bard and other visual references, the paintings included Lalon’s verses. Kabir left for Spain in 1981 where he pursued printmaking. When he resurfaced in the Dhaka art scene in 1997 after a gap of 17 years, he was already pursuing a mode of expression where the mundane objects and the familiar world around him were translated into gesture-heavy images. He was awarded for his early style that occupied a space between traditional visual story telling and modern art’s preoccupation with stylistic rigor. The return to his country of birth was marked by back-to-back exhibitions in Dhaka’s major galleries where the artist has made visible his informal approach to painting where textures and colours define the image rather than contour drawings. He has received numerous accolades for his contribution to art. Notable among the awards are the Carmen Aroshamduzamena Prize, Madrid (1984). Kabir is now based in Dhaka and is one of the most sought-after artists of the country.