Bhubaneswar, April 6: A weeklong exhibition showcasing paintings by young artists of Odisha and Bengal has started at Odisha Modern Art Gallery.

Hosted by the Jaleswar Art Foundation from Balasore, the art works were painted at two camps hosted last year. Over 40 young artists had taken part in it.

Most of the paintings that have been inspired by the life and society are insightful and striking in terms of subject and theme as well as forms and imagery. Man and animal conflict and position of women in the society are some of the most visited concepts by the artists. The divinity of love has also been unravelled in paintings depicting Radha and Krishna.

Sachin Swain's two paintings showcase the destruction of forest by human beings. He shows a man painted as a tiger scaring away a tiger and walking towards the end of the canvas. A red backdrop helps highlight the characters of the work. Surath Choudhary and Binod Bihari Ghosh have also covered similar themes.

Position of women in the society is also a theme that has been explored by some artists. A Bikash Mahanta painting depicts the appearance of a woman by an unusual facial form. Mahanta has used dark shades in great contrasts to highlight striped fish that he has used to show how the society treats women by confining them in an enclosure just in case of the marine species.

Manoranjan Jena's work is also impressive. He has shown how a traditional woman is changing with the time with the help of gadgets.

Other fascinating works on the same topic are by Manas Das, Dasarathi Sahoo, Pramod Mallick, Nityananda Sahoo and so on.

The works created at the art camp were exhibited at Jaleswar earlier and will shortly be showcased in Delhi, said an artist.

Art lovers are finding the displayed works impressive. "The works are different and original. Some stand out. I loved Pradipta Biswas and Dasarathi Sahoo's paintings," said Md Sohail, a visitor.

The exhibition that started yesterday will conclude on April 11.