Paintings on display at Suvadra Art Gallery in Bhubaneswar. Pictures by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, July 29: The 30-odd paintings, which had found their way on to the canvas at a national art camp here last year, have now been put up for public display at a weeklong exhibition since Saturday.

The exhibition showcases paintings that reflect pensive thoughts in acrylic and oil colours and mix-media created by professional artists from across the country.

Chandan Sengupta from Calcutta has drawn a human figure with folded hands standing before a green globe portraying the gratitude human beings must have for nature. Harekrishna Pal from Tripura has invoked tribal deities in a collage made of sketches. The painting brings alive various legends and rituals associated with tribal life.

Rabi Narayan Rath, secretary of the Odisha Lalit Kala Akademi, had also taken part in the camp. He had worked out a different angle to paint the Jagannath temple.

Rath has shown the four dwaras (entrances) from a bird’s eye perspective. “Artists tend to draw the Jagannath temple from various angles. Some draw panoramic images, while others try to concentrate on particular sections. I wanted to showcase a way through which all the four gates are visible and I have drawn the Lord’s big round eyes in the centre,” said Rath.

A black and white painting containing silhouettes by Satyajit Das shows five people dressed as Krishna with a yellow circlet and red flute.

Many paintings are focused on feminine figures. Zeba Hassan from Aligarh and Shashikant Rout from Balasore have painted two different portraits of a solitary lady splattered in myriad hues. Prabodh Kumar Sahoo from Cuttack has envisioned a nude female figure, whose head is sprouted as a tree. Ashish Kumar Pandey from the same place has shown a female divine coming out of water while a masculine figure tries to hold her back.

Paintings of veterans such as Siba Panigrahi and younger artists such as Meenaketan Patnaik also figure in the exhibition. The intricacy of the artwork has been able to mesmerise the visitors.

“I could not find a single painting that either did not have complexity in its texture or thought process. It is a wonderful collection of sophisticated art work coming from noted personalities of the field,” said Saswati Meher, an art enthusiast.

Suvadra Art Gallery that houses the works also vows to have more such exhibitions. “We have recently renovated the gallery. As for this exhibition, we would contemplate a certain base price and auction them,” said gallery director Surya Rath.