Gajendra Padhi’s Durga and Damini and (above) a sculpture of a cock made from bicycle parts on display at Rashtriya Lalit Kala Akademi in Bhubaneswar. Telegraph pictures

Bhubaneswar, Jan. 4: Diverse forms of art with poignant themes and novel techniques are on display at an exhibition titled Brush Strokes – 2013 at Rashtriya Lalit Kala Akademi here.

Organised by colourentice.com, an online art gallery, and a major steel company, along with Together artists’ group, the art exhibition displays the works of more than 60 artists from all over the country.

The exhibition, where more than 150 paintings and some sculptures are on display, not only offers an insight into many current social issues, but also gives the viewers a chance to rejoice the beauty of life and serenity of nature.

Gajendra Padhi’s art is topical for its subject — violence against women — in the wake of the Delhi gang rape. The painter has showed an empowered woman with a trident fighting a group of men in a painting that has a three-dimensional fibre glass frame carved into the image of a female goddess. The work is titled “Durga and Damini”.

Among other interesting works is Ujjwal Debnath’s painting, which depicts women, who have adorned themselves in traditional north Indian attire, for a festival. There are a number of spiritual paintings as well.

Young sculptor Kanta Kishore, known for his works in stone, has presented a couple of mixed-media installations. One of his works is an open book made of marble, out of which a tree made of bronze is shown emerging.

“I want to express the irony: we are taught to save the environment through books that are made by cutting trees,” said the artist. His other work is an assembly of slippers mounted on rods. The slippers are made of stone while the rods are made of bronze.

“Displaying works by artists from all over the country keeps us updated on the latest trends in painting and other forms of art. Hence, this event is not only meant for art lovers, but also the artists themselves,” said Manas Jena, an artist, and curator for the event.

The exhibition was inaugurated by chief minister Naveen Patnaik on January 3 and will continue till January 7.