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Gunjeshwari Kumari, an activist and painter in Madhubani, India, died in 2022, two years before the “Mithila Women Paint Gender Based Violence” exhibition opened at the Syracuse University Art Museum.

Over 7,000 miles west of Madhubani, one of Gunjeshwari’s paintings is part of the museum’s permanent collection. Other paintings created in response to her death also hang in the SU Art Museum, which houses one of the largest collections of works from the region in the United States.

“When that happened, the art community in her hometown got upset and I realized we couldn’t pass this opportunity up to talk about something that is really crucial in India,” Susan Wadley, a professor of South Asian studies and co-curator of the exhibition, said.

Gunjeshwari’s painting is part of the collection consisting of nearly 150 Mithila paintings from Madhubani, a region in northern India. H. Daniel Smith, a former professor of religion at Syracuse University, originally collected the pieces. Wadley has continued his work after his death, visiting the village for the first time in 2010 and twice more after that. She returned from each of her visits with paintings.

The works in the exhibition include religious scenes, figures and stories from the Hindu faith. Some paintings in the collection depict arranged marriages and the abortion of female fetuses reflecting the social and cultural pressure to produce male children.

The content in the exhibition aims to challenge ideas of gender norms and gender violence in both America and India. In the U.S., gender-based violence is typically associated with romantic partners, but in Madhubani, there is often violence within the family, usually from the husband’s side, Melissa Yuen, interim chief curator of SU Art Museum, said.

“This exhibition is trying to draw out this cross-cultural comparison. Thinking about how different types of patriarchal structures govern women’s lives here in the U.S. versus in the region of India,” Yuen said.

In honor of Gunjeshwari’s death, Mahalaxmi, another woman in Madhubani, painted a tribute. It depicts Gunjeshwari’s husband and mother-in-law on either side of her with her children below.

Following suit, Shalinee Kumari painted “In Honor of Gunjeshwari,” a visual of Gunjeshwari and her children surrounded by other vignettes, such as picking flowers with her friends and her parents sending her off to marriage. The painting contains more empty space than other Mithila paintings.

“Shalinee notes that she left this blank ring on purpose,” Yuen said. “It is a space for women to raise their voices and claim their power, just like what Gunjeshwari was trying to do before her death.”

Originally painted on their walls and floors, it wasn’t until the 1960s and ‘70s when Mithila women began using paper, which created a market for their work, said curator of education at the SU art museum, Kate Holohan.

Many of the women are self-educated in the art of painting to express their experiences. Others have degrees ranging from Ph.D.s in social work to education.

“They were established painters and that allowed them the freedom to speak about what they saw going on in their society,” Wadley said.

Holohan said having SU students visit the exhibition for their classes starts important discourse surrounding these women who are not represented enough.

With exhibitions like this, the museum is attempting to diversify its collection showcasing works from women and people of color. Holohan and other staff at the museum hope the collection is eye-opening for viewers who are unfamiliar with the ongoing violence in Madhubani and other areas throughout the world.

Yuen said SU often emphasizes the idea of educating worldly-cultured people, and this exhibition is something the staff hopes will aid that mission. The collection gives SU students access to understand the world outside of Syracuse, specifically through the lens of gender.

“It’s communicating something about their lives today. It’s not just in the past, this is lived experience that is happening in our own time that we get to encounter through these artworks,” Holohan said.

CORRECTION: A previous version of this article misstated the size of Smith’s collection and incorrectly attributed Melissa Yuen. The Daily Orange regrets these errors.

Published on September 10, 2024 at 12:52 am