The ‘Male Nude’ art exhibition kicked off on the premises of MCube Gallery, Lalitpur on Friday. The exhibition features works of artists Kapil Mani Dixit and Roshan Miahra, and is curated by Manish Lal Shrestha. This six-day event is showcasing 17 different paintings by the two artists. Out of 17 paintings, six are made by Kapil Mani Dixit and remaining eleven are made by Roshan Mishra. 

According to the artist duo, they had started doing research for the exhibition since the beginning of 2017. Dixit said, “Our audience is curious to learn more about the concept of nude art, and this proves that people are curious about their bodies but cannot express their feelings due to the mind-set of our society.” 

Though the exhibition’s theme revolves around nude paintings, both Dixit and Mishra have expressed their views in different forms. Dixit’s paintings celebrate males and are made in a traditional way. Talking about the paintings, Dixit said, “I have two decades of experience in nude art. I used to paint both male and female bodies, but this time I have tried to show that even males can have feminine emotions.” 

Similarly, Mishra’s paintings show how males are tied into their own emotions and rarely have an outlet to their feelings as all males in his creations are wrapped in a plastic or tied with ropes. Tied males are symbolic to the way that our society treats males when they try to show their soft and tender nature. Mishra himself has become a model to create one of his paintings and most of his works are negative paintings.  

The exhibition will continue till February 15.