Soliloquy in stone and metals

At the Visual Art Gallery leading up to the Central Atrium at the India Habitat Centre, you will find yourself immersed in a world of sculptural brilliance. For the first time in many years in Delhi’s art circuit, a diverse group of sculptors from Kolkata, Delhi, Chennai and Mumbai have come together with their transformative artworks that define the evolution of sculptors in India.

It is interesting to see how every artist, while exploring the intersection of tradition and modernity, occupies a different vision of what sculpture can be. The energy and variety of the 14 sculptors is evident in each piece as the exhibition, The Forces of Imagination, takes viewers on a journey of emotions, creativity and processes of the artists.

This is a rare show with 100 sculptures on display, put together by the Delhi Art Society (DAS), Calcutta Sculptors and the Chawla Art Gallery.

“The comprehensive, thought-provoking and innovative art pieces in eclectic mediums such as marble, bronze and stainless steel reflect the growing mastery of our sculptors. Their works are open to interpretation and are not mere representation; they stir the mind, body and the soul,” says Neeraj Gupta, the DAS founder and a master in makrana marble himself.

His new body of work at the show evokes surreal imageries, structured around the interactivity of disparate parts in tight sonorous arrangements. They project disunities and interpersonal separations, a sense of invasive and turbulent past, stemming from their environment, he says. Symptomatic of present times, Gupta animates them with varied layers of slips and glazes.

Artist Tapas Sarkar poses with his work at “The Forces of Imagination” exhibition in Delhi. Photo: SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR / The Hindu
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SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR

Tapas Sarkar’s work in bronze with numerous folk imagery attains spiritual grandeur. In the deepy carved style, there is an elaboration of the narrative as seen in On The Bench and Way to the Dancing Ground. Sarkar, founder of the Bengal sculptor’s group, says the narration is kind of an embellishment he uses as a metaphor in a scarred world.

Sculpture by Vibhor Sogani
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SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Vibhor Sogani’s installations in steel transcend boundaries imposed by geographies and cultural desire. A Slice of Sky takes the form of floating lotus petals with the soft metal curving gently to create a space where mirror finish droplets evoke a sense of serenity and wonder. The light installation, Magical Bloom is made of countless polished stainless steel orbs drawn into the shape of a flower mimicking the beauty provided in abundance by Nature. Intimate and penetrating, the reflective orbs interact with the environment mirroring the sky above and movements in the surrounding. Each orb reflects a world of its own

In the mixed group of trained sculptors, stone carvers and installation artists, is an exception, Narayan Lakshman, artist from Chennai, who explores Zen through abstract expressionism on canvas and has taken the plunge into sculpture as a natural and organic extension of his artistic vision.

Narayan Lakshman with his sculpture titled Protected at the “The Forces of Imagination” exhibition in Delhi Photo: SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR / The Hindu
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SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR

“It is a big jump,” he says, It is easier and a different orientation to put your thoughts and feelings onto a two-dimensional canvas, but putting the same ideas of stillness and silence, of meditative focus, into three-dimensional stone work is completely different,’ says Narayan, the only participant with two of his paintings also on display.

The sheer nature of the material pushes the artist into different genres. My paintings are all about a serene peace and deeper joy and I had to find a way to express that in stone, it is harder to create the same sense of energy flow within stone,” he says.

Narayan hopes the discerning audience would capture the sensorial link between his two art forms. His pink marble Makrana sculpture titled Protected captures the interpersonal and communitarian aspect of love and peace. It is an ode to the human’s power of empathy that leads to the resolute protection of an individual by the community.

“You could see it in the context of asylum seekers or those who undertake treacherous journeys across turbulent seas and land on a foreign shore, or the situation in Gaza and other conflict zones. It is about the people standing up for each other, the triumph of spirit that manifests in togetherness,” he says.

Every artwork on display include some gems. Some of the other notable works are by Somnath Chakraborty, Chandan Roy, Subrata Pal, Pabitra Ganguly, whose pieces are all nurturing and soulful.

An exhibit at The Forces of Imagination exhibition
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SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Says Shibani Chawla, director of Chawla Art Gallery, “Our focus was on blending time-honoured techniques and contemporary creativity and we have carefully chosen and curated items that would invigorate the viewers.”

“A sculptor’s practice is meditative, explorative, and creative and incorporates carving, sculpting, assimilating, drawing and using one’s full artistic potential to create a work of art that speaks from the depth. This exhibition helps to understand the impact and legacy of contemporary Indian sculpture,” says curator Nanak Ganguly.

At India Habitat Centre, Lodhi Road; Till December 31; 11am to 7pm