BHUBANESWAR: A national-level group art exhibition was organised by Orissa Modern Art Gallery on their premises here, Saturday. Paintings of 25 artists were exhibited at the gallery.
Different styles of painting were showcased, from abstract to paintings inspired by folk styles like ‘Madhubani’. The exhibition is open to public till November 20.
Akash Ranjan Dash, an art teacher from the city, has contributed a painting inspired by a sculpture from Konark temple for the exhibition. He said he has been participating in similar events for four-five years now. “I am very inspired by our local culture and my piece is based on that. I have sketched it entirely with pen and added a bit of touch up with strokes of water colour,” said Dash.
17-year-old B Harsha Sai, a student of Ravenshaw University, is inspired by Buddha’s life and his sacrifices. For the exhibition she has made an abstract painting of half of the face of Buddha on canvas with acrylic. “Since most of such exhibitions have an age bar of above 18, I can’t participate a lot. But I am very fond of painting. From next year I am looking forward to taking part in more such events,” said B Harsha.
The exhibition was inaugurated by Sangram Keshari Paikray, president of Khadi and Village Industry Board, Sushil Kumar Das, former director of I&PR, Odisha and academician Mangala Prasad Mohanty.
Mohanty said that India is not able to make the best of the art market. “We need to encourage the artists and work towards the growth of the industry. For instance, last year China made a total of $ 480.551 million in the market, but India only managed to make a business of $6.12 million. And we have been making art here since 300 BC. We have a lot of potential and we shouldn’t be this far behind,” added Mohanty.
Caption
Visitors admire the paintings at the expo