If you missed the Mithila art exhibition at Tachair Bookshoppe in Jersey City in June, this is your chance to visit it here.
Gauri Devi Krishna Kalliya 30“x 22” acrylic on handmade paper 2010.
A charming rendering of the Krishna Kalliya story with the painting divided into three horizontal panels. The sun and white mountains against a blue sky serve as the backdrop to Krishna subduing the great snake as the excited villagers watch in the center.
Bibha Das Chait Festival 22″x 30″, acrylic on paper, 2010.
This is a finely drawn work of the two day festival to the Sun god. At the end of the first day, women with trays of offerings stand in the water facing the setting sun, and again, before dawn the next day, they repeat the ceremony to the rising sun.
Priyanshu Rama, Sita and Lakshman in Exile 22″x 30″, acrylic on handmade paper, 2011.
In Priyanshu’s idealized exile of Rama, Sita and Lakshman in the forest Rama with his bow sits next to Sita while Lakshman, a quiver over his shoulder, remains in the back . The work is so delicately drawn it appears almost like lace on paper.
Pratik Prabhakar Tiger 22″x 30″, acrylic on handmade paper, 2006.
In this early work by Pratik, the Tiger turns back to snarl at the snake while making a prudent retreat. Note the wonderfully decorated tree trunk with its aquatic animals from the ponds of Madhubani. One visitor to the exhibition wondered if the snake was a Biblical reference – a cross cultural interpretation of standard imagery.
Pinki’s talent to take a standard motif and make it seem fresh is clear here in her combining the auspicious fish and turtle images in the center of the lotus pond to create the customary female face that the lotus represents.
Sudha Devi Harvest 22″x 30″, acrylic on handmade paper, 2011.
Sudha Devi is part of the Ranti Village Women’s Cooperative which not only makes commercial products on order but also turns out some beautiful unique pieces. This work appears to show both the planting and the harvesting in the one painting.
Arti Kumari Rama and Sita Welcome Hanuman 22″x 30″, acrylic on handmade paper, 2012.
A highly decorative and colorful painting from the Ramayana story – perhaps the moment when Rama has won the battle against Ravanna and sends Hanuman to fetch Sita.
Swati Kashyap Women Grinding Corn 22″x30″, acrylic on handmade paper 2010.
A striking composition in black and white in which the women look like dancers on stage. They grind corn by stepping on one end of a long pestle and then letting it drop into the mortar filled with corn.
Rani Jha Two Women 22″x 30″, acrylic on handmade paper, 2011.
Rani Jha’s paintings depict the daily life of women in the patriarchal society of Bihar. Here two women have a quiet exchange away from the pressures of their everyday lives.
Urmila Devi The Tree Goddess 30″x 22″ acrylic on paper 2011.
Urmila Devi paints this work in the repetitive ‘tattoo’ style adopted by the early lower caste painters. As a child she enjoyed working in the fields with her mother and took special delight when the wind rustled the leaves in the trees. Her mother told her that was the goddess of the tree singing and here Urmila Devi paints the goddess against the trunk of this Tree of Life.
Attributed to the late Lalita Devi of Jitwarpur but the various signatures on the back make this improbable. Night Scene 30″x 22″, acrylic on paper, purchased 2012 in Jitwarpur.
The painting, an adaption of the tattoo style, is representative of a motif popular among village painters.
Anonymous Ardhanarishwara ( Shiva and his consort Parvati share one body), no date, purchased 2011 in Madhubani. 30″x 22″, acrylic on paper.
The sexual duality of the Shiva/Parvati figure reflects the feminine philosophical concept that the male (matter) is powerless without the female (energy), thus the great god Shiva is powerless without Parvati, his shakti (energy) .
Arti Kumari Woman in the Role of Mother Nature 30″x 22″, acrylic on handmade paper 2011.
Arti Kumari painted this piece to depict the importance of the feminine both in daily life and in the cosmos. Despite the patriarchal and conservative nature of Bihar society there is a powerful undercurrent of feminism in the work of many of these artists.
This was the exhibition at Tachair. There was great interest in the exhibition and despite a rainy and stormy night for the opening we had good attendance and all stayed late. If you have any questions on the work feel free to contact me at pzirnis@hotmail.com.