An art enthusiast checks out paintings at State Art Gallery. Telegraph picture

Nov. 23: Four artists — three from Manipur and one from Assam — have come together to organise an art exhibition at State Art Gallery.

The paintings and sculptures highlight the panoramic beauty of Manipur and send out a message that there’s more to the state than insurgency.

Artists R.K. Somorjit Singh, H. Kependra Singh and Debendra Singh from Manipur and Siva Prasad Marar from Assam have displayed their work on canvas and wood at the exhibition titled “Unity”, which began on Monday and will conclude tomorrow.

The paintings are a combination of three mediums: watercolours, acrylics and oils. Also, Marar’s unique sculpture made out of bamboo and paper pulp has lent to the charm of the exhibition.

Debendra Singh’s paintings, a wonderful mixture of colours, depict the colourful hilltops of Manipur— veiled by thin mist and interspersed by roaring waterfalls. Singh said the beautiful scenes of Manipur deserve more attention than insurgency.

“The subject of my paintings is peace. There is turmoil in Manipur. But, there is also wonderful natural beauty that could bring peace to one’s mind. The paintings are expressive of that,” he said.

Singh had done post diploma in painting from Kala Bhavan, Visva Bharati, Shantiniketan under the guidance of K.G. Subramaniyam.

R.K. Somorjit’s paintings are also a representation of the many shades of nature. He has painted the bamboo house, bush and tree. The painter said the paintings portrayed what he had seen in his state. But then they speak more — about the hardship of life in his home state. “I prefer water colour. It helps me finish my paintings early,” said the All India Fine Arts Award-winning painter.

Morar said his sculpture was about the decreasing traditional values around the globe. He puts up a figure of a lifeless tree with tiny paintings of various traditional items on it. And near the tree, sculptures of colourful human faces lie on the ground staring blankly and helplessly at the dying tree. “I think while our traditional values are disappearing we are helplessly looking at it,” said Morar.

Debendra Singh said this was their first exhibition in Assam. Through the exhibition, he said, they were trying to bring the two states closer and also looking for a market for paintings. Singh said he had already sold more than 500 paintings in his career, some of them fetching up to Rs 80,000 a piece.