Art Meets Science Exhibition

The 2017 NGBT meeting, as at previous NGBT meetings (2014, 2015 and 2016), will feature an art exhibition that will showcase artists blending serious Science with soothing Art. The Art exhibition is curated by Gita who, besides being an Art curator and documentarian, is an artist in her own right.

About Gita

With a Masters degree in Psychology and trained in Art , Gita has been part of many exhibitions since early 90’s. She has been consistently showcasing her works in India and abroad, apart from doing commissioned projects for corporates. Gita's works are semi-abstract with the suggestion of a female form, architecture, musical instruments, or some combination of these elements. They simultaneously explore color, texture, line and form, not as juxtapositions or layers but as integral to one another.

Traditional Art of Odisha

Odisha’s villages are the centres of the famous Pattachitra paintings, and in one such village, Raghurajpur, in Puri district of Odisha, creativity flows on any available surface, from cloth and paper to walls, terracotta and dried palm leaves.

Raghurajpur Artists Village – the hub of Pattachitra Paintings near Bhubaneswar:

Raghurajpur is a heritage crafts village in Odisha state, 10 kms from Puri and 55 kms from the state capital, Bhubaneshwar. There are about 100 houses in the village and almost everyone is an artisan. They are Pattachitra painters, an art form which dates back to 5 BC. They also make traditional masks, stone idols, papier mache, sculptures, wooden toys. Some of these artists have won National Awards for their exceptional work. Amid scenic surroundings of coconut, palm and jackfruit groves, this village is an ideal getaway from Puri or Bhubaneswar.

Raghurajpur is also reknowned for being the birthplace of Kelucharan Mohapatra, the renowned exponent of the Odissi dance form. It is sad that at one point of time, these artisans were forced to get into agriculture as they could not survive by selling their artwork. In 1998, the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) did a two year research project and this village was chosen for being developed as the first heritage crafts village They helped the villagers to relearn traditional techniques and implement them in their artwork. They learned how to prepare plaster made of lime, sand, jute, molasses, lentils, curd, casein and local herbs such as triphala and bel.

There are other neighbouring villages like Dandasahi, Nayakapatna and Khasposak which are also involved in such work.
The Pattachitra paintings are made over a piece of cloth known as Patta or a dried palm leaf, which is first painted with a mixture of chalk and gum. Over the prepared surface, colorful and intricate pictures of various Gods, Goddesses, and mythological scenes with ornamentation of flowers, trees and animals are then painted.
A few of the eminent artists are Shri Prafullakumarmaharana (Palmleaf artist), Shri. Harihara Maharana (Pattachitra), Shri Bhagaban Subdhi (Woodcarving) and Shri Raghunath Acharya (Applique Work).

Contemporary Artists of Odisha

We are pleased to present select contemporary artists for the conference alongside traditional artists of odisha most of these artists have a degree in fine arts from the College of arts and some of them are Alumni from the Dhauli college of arts and crafts in Bhubaneswar.

Panchanan Samal, Prabir Dalai, Gauranga Bariki are

some of the senior artists who have participated in various exhibitions in the country, received awards and have participated in many national level art camps.
Others like Lipid Nayak, Sanjukta Rani Dash, Rajkishor Maharana, Sasmita Kamila,

Chintamani Biswal, Nibedita Pattanaik, are upcoming and established artists who create works of art influenced by the regional art and culture. Since Odisha is famous for grand temples, palmleaf or pattachitra paintings, paper mache and applique works, the confluences of these definitely influence present day artists. Nature, Buddhist themes and religious icons can be found in abstract manner in their works.