(Above and right) Two paintings on display at the exhibition in Bhubaneswar. Telegraph pictures

Bhubaneswar, Feb. 28: Captivating images are drawing city art lovers to a painting exhibition by Pondicherry-based Prabhat Biswas at the Odisha Modern Art Gallery.

In his 30-odd paintings on display, Biswas has experimented in various ways.

He has expressed his imagination on artworks of different sizes ranging from 31x38sqcm to as big as 91x100sqcm. The artist has also displayed acrylic paintings on paper. There are some striking creations on canvas as well.

Biswas has also tried to portray a range of subjects including nature, society and spirituality. But the most prominent of all his themes are beauty and women. We see the female form dominating his works. They are the protagonists while in the background are images of animals, men, bees and butterflies.

The colour schemes used in his works make Biswas’ works unique.

In his series ‘Abhiroop’, one finds a medley of colours mingling with each other in a chaotic fashion to form intriguing images. Some of the paintings in this series have defined outlines to give shape to human and animal forms while some are a party of bright shades. ‘Coloured Creatures’, in which he has presented aquatic animals, mostly colourful fishes swimming in water among colourful plants, is an impressive work made of dotted textures.

Though his human characters are too well defined and thus look like illustrations in book at times, his choice of colours on the palette and some abstract works reflect Biswas’ calibre as an artist.

“I have given form to my dreams and imagination blending them with reality and mythology to express myself. One might identify the imagery with things of life and enjoy their fairy take like radiance or else go deeper into the textured surface and discover a yearning for the unattainable,” said the artist.

While artist and gallery founder Tarakant Parida appreciated the paintings, viewers too seemed to be admiring the collection.

“Some works are really striking. I loved his works wherein the similarity between butterflies and women have been showcased,” said Smrutirekha Sahoo, an art enthusiast.

The exhibition that began on February 25 will conclude on March 3.