Artist Maitri Biswadhara Majhi’s paintings on display at the art exhibition titled Naari at Rashtriya Lalit Kala Kendra in Bhubaneswar. Pictures by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, May 31: Artist Maitri Biswadhara Majhi, who debuted with her solo exhibition at Rashtriya Lalit Kala Kendra, chose to overlook all that is elegant and eye-catching.

She focused on something as simple and general as women in their various moods in her works.

Her paintings titled Naari might remind one of the various other exhibitions with similar titles and themes, but what makes Maitri’s work different is her exploration of womanhood at various ages and stages of life.

Her paintings depict different emotions associated with a woman. Though it remains a facet of her portraits, she has tried to bring to the fore the admirable qualities in a woman.

The painting of a woman dancing on a stage, which Maitri has titled as the Golden Heart is impressive.

In order to understand the significance of the title one needs to take a closer look at the picture to realise that the stage is in the shape of a heart. She has tried to draw the relationship between the stage and a woman’s heart.

In a few of her other works on the canvas such as the ones titled Grihalakshmi, Kartik Panchami, Ardhanareswari, she has tried to capture the religious side of women, who in all odds never fail to pray for the well-being of her family.

In others, Maitri has depicted the historical and mythological women those who are seen as epitome of strength — Jijabai, Jhansi ki Rani, Meerabai, Shakuntala and Rani Padmini.

“Of all the 41 pictures that I have painted over the year, it’s Naari that my favourite.

The picture shows six women expressing six varying emotions on their faces — jealous, naïve, motherly, gentle, angry and calm,” said the young painter.

What is striking in all her paintings is her generous dabbling with bold colours. Her novice hands might not have the finesse to paint fine curves or beautiful figurines, but for a first-timer, Maitri has shown the courage to exhibit what she believes is her best. Visitors in the gallery seemed to appreciate the young talent’s art pieces.

“I won’t say this was a fantastic collection, but the artist’s love for painting is evident in all the pictures. My personal favourite would be all the Krishna kanhaiya portraits because each of them has a lovely story to tell,” said art enthusiast, Gayatri Mohanty. The exhibition will continue till June 2.