Conceptualised by ceramic artist Trupti Patel, “From The Centre” is a new show currently showing at the Gallery Art and Soul, which has ceramics as its main focus. It displays artworks of 42 different artists who have a long relationship with the Ceramic Centre in Vadodara or at some point of time were connected to it — either out of curiosity or because of their love for ceramics. The aim, however, irrespective of what caused the association, is clear: to present an ensemble of experimental and traditional ceramic works that were formed and conceptualised at the Ceramic Centre, give ceramics a platform to break away from the “kitchenware” tag and establish it at par with other Indian contemporary art works.
Among the artists showcasing their work are such established names like Trupti Patel, Jyotsana Bhatt, Kristine Michael, K.G. Subramanyam, Ira Chaudhuri, P.R. Daroz, traditional potters like Poonambhai Manibhai Prajapati, and some well-known painters like Brinda Miller, Nikhileshwar Baruah and Rini Dhumal who don’t have much experience of working with ceramics and also some who have discovered clay for the first time. While the work of the established potters gives the show a classical touch with creations that leave you amazed, the experimentation with young and upcoming starters brings a variety of shapes and structures. Majority of these starters have come out of their comfort zone to present works that are contemporary and thought provoking.
Nikhileshwar Baruah is one such artist whose association with clay started on an uncomfortable note mostly because of the technicalities associated with it. But during the process of working on clay, he discovered the medium and its endless possibilities. Baruah highlights the negative aspect of development in his work titled A Proposed Monument For Our Bright Future. He combines clay, stone and barbed wire to criticise the never-dying hunger of the human race for materialistic things, and describes how its future, like the proverbial golden goose, is doomed if we don’t stop in time.
Baruah, who is known more for his paintings, finds clay a more challenging medium. “Ceramics is definitely more challenging in terms of a medium. There’s a lot of manual labour required to create it. But why I find it more challenging is because the work is not entirely personal. You have to take the help of someone else in creating it. And for an artist, keeping his individuality alive while letting others to work on his creation is always a tough challenge.” The artist says that despite all the challenges, he loves working in it. “It leaves me with a very good feeling,” he says.
Like Baruah, there are many other artists who are mesmerised by the flexibility and the challenges of clay as a medium. Many of the works on display show the artists crossing boundaries of different mediums and combining them together to produce a mix of different worlds. Like in Reflection, Pulak Sanpui, a Vadodara-based artist, who although studied painting and printmaking, combines his painting skills to clay. Then there’s Foram Thakore, who combines glass and ceramics in her work Smiling Us. With two roses made of glass placed on top of a circular glazed earthen structure, Smiling Us rejoices the togetherness of two individuals. It reminds one of the nicer times shared with someone dear, and relishes the warmth of this relationship captured forever in the stillness of the structure. “I love to play, to explore with these mediums and to get enchanted with the element of surprise inherent to it,” writes Thakore. For her too, experimentation with the medium comes out top priority as well as the biggest challenge.
Trupti, who has curated the show, says that surprising the onlooker was the key focus of the show and that’s why she invited all the artists who had worked at the centre at some point of time. “When I started doing ceramic works in the 70s, nobody wanted to buy them. Although the current situation is still not very favourable, the Indian art market has matured and things are changing for the best,” she says.
Speaking of the Ceramic Centre, with which her association started in 1997, Trupti says, “It was and still is very difficult for an artist to work on clay on his own. The materials used are very expensive, and can’t be bought in small amounts. This is one of the reasons why most young artists stay away from ceramics. It is also why we have a centre where young and established artists could work. And the show ‘From The Centre’ is a tribute to the work done in the centre.”

‘From the Centre’ will run at the Gallery
Art and Soul, Worli, till November 7.