“Sculptures and carvings have been a part of Indian tradition for generations; however, they are not generally represented. We wanted to portray a contemporary outlook towards sculptures,” said Rohit Gandhi, co-founder of Palette Art Gallery, Golf Links. The gallery is currently hosting an exhibition displaying sculptures by 18 artists from across India, at Bikaner House, Shahjahan Road.
The exhibition, which started on Monday, has the artists’ works on display till December 6. Titled, ‘18 Dimensions: Sculptural Manifestations’, the show features sculptures by contemporary artists working with multiple materials—terracotta, stainless steel, ceramics, wood—as well as mediums such as videography, to present a range of sculptural expressions that encourage viewer participation and physical engagement. Curated by Palette co-founders Gandhi and Rahul Khanna, these artworks are, as Gandhi added, “by artists who we truly believe in.” The art gallery at Bikaner House, interspersed with myriad sculptures by the artists, is dimly lit, giving the entire space a haunting atmosphere.
A societal commentary
In a dramatic departure from the classic concept of sculptural art, the 18 artists have incorporated a number of contemporary methods in their works as a way of engaging the viewers. Pooja Iranna from Delhi bases her artworks around architecture. Her work titled ‘Still Standing Strong’ is a piece made entirely out of stapler pins. Featuring two converging towers, the work is a representation of the rise in Indian culture along with its subsequent decline. Similarly, Gigi Scaria’s work, ‘Unavoidable’, is a comment on the global pandemic. The sculpture, which shows a queue of people staring at a large rock plummeting towards them, is a veiled narrative of the magnitude and unavoidable nature of the crisis.
Out of the many sculptures, one of the most interesting pieces is by Karnataka-based artist LN Tallur. His work, titled ‘Chrometophobia’ (meaning the fear of money) features a tree trunk with a number of coins hammered into it. “I created a sort of therapy through my work. By hammering coins into the tree, people are encouraged to forget about the fleeting nature of money,” said Tallur. Similar in its usage of coins, yet starkly different in ideation, is Valay Shende’s replica of the Indian coin where the Ashok Stambh is removed, with a video of a ringmaster training three lions playing in its place. The exhibition examines both the possibilities and limits of the traditional