(From top) Artworks put up on display at the exhibition at Lalit Kala Academy in Bhubaneswar and visitors at the event. Pictures by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, April 5: Splashes of colours and ideas on canvas brought alive the gallery at the Lalit Kala Akademi, Regional Centre, as national award winners presented their work at the National Exhibition of Art.

The show that was inaugurated on March 29 offers perspectives on matters both whimsical and grave in the form of paintings, sketches, graphics, sculptures and installations.

Whether technique or concept, the artists have dipped into creative pools by giving a new dimension to aesthetic and objective themes.

The mystic gypsy in Simhachalam’s etching Soothsayer captivates, and a regal leopard resting on a traditional Indian divan charms in Sunil Chandra Pal’s The Lair.

The fascinating works of Jyotirmoy De and Akash Choyal, on the other hand, explore a new medium in art. De’s Rebirth is a blend of needlework and embroidery on black cloth. The vivid imagery has as a central figure Da Vinci’s Monalisa, surrounded by copulating images of animals on the verge of extinction, some of which are also shown as missing their mates. She has also incorporated growing buildings and vehicles to indicate urbanisation.

Choyal has chosen the unique medium of Triograph. Called Race of the Key, he has given a 3D effect to his pen and ink creation that depicts men racing towards a huge key of success, which again, is made of humans.

Relief works such as, M.S. Rawat’s mud creation Vaidya Raj and Asim Pal’s paper pulp piece Transformation are remarkable as is the humorous painting by Shiva Kumar Gadiga titled Masth hai ladki. Gadiga’s work illustrates eve-teasers in the form of a dog with ogling eyes and what appears to be a wagging tail. Photographs by Rajesh Dahya Bhai Patel, Andre J. Fanthome and Mazhar Elahi have each captured a distinct viewpoint. There are also few trysts with mixed media such as, the simple but effective Colour of Friendship by Sachin Ramarao Hajare who has hung many friendship bands on a clothesline in front of his creation that depicts a chameleon.

“The themes of the artworks shown here are so wide one gets lost. The paintings are really stimulating,” said Bhuban Satpathy, a visitor.

Some impressive installations and sculptures are also on display. Huge bronze drops attract the viewer in Jaya Vivek’s Raindrops while Arun Pandit’s Thinker made in metal shows a man in a sitting posture, lost in thought, with a part of his brain full of gadgets. Pandit seems to show the impact of the electronic age.

“All the works exhibited here are the creations of artists who have received national awards in the past few years,” said Ramakrishna Vedala, an organiser. “We are glad that many art lovers are making the rounds of the exhibition that is on until April 20,” he added.