Of all the arts, I find sculpture and classical dance the two most difficult media — for the simple reason that both are body dependent. In case of dance, it is the body that is the medium, and as far sculpting is concerned, the sheer physicality of the Art makes it daunting.
The latest show at Art Spice, Sculpt, brings together five sculptors and their works born out of their belief in the five elements of nature.
The five elements and a fusion of elements contravene human imagination, finding their reprisal in the stunning forms. Earth is the foundation, cradling human and other life forms. Space is symbolised by openness and the expanse of creative genius. While fire scorches the earth and bestows the form, air is the unvarying motion of deft hands that identifies creativity. Water then dissolves desolation and darkness. Together they allow loveliness to flow into the beholder.
Sculptor Devi Dass Khatri binds his combination of elements, and keeps us hooked with his stunning wooden sculptures juxtaposed with other materials like metal and fibreglass. He at once grabs attention with his perfect detailing and fine work. The thought process of the artist is unfettered and the work shows it. On the other hand, Neeraj Gupta’s work in marble has won him many accolades, but he traverses his media with ease and he has turned his interest to delicately worked wood, bringing his masterly strokes to his newfound love. The beehive like motif that dot his works makes for some amazing specimen that set this series apart and are a delight to behold.
Moreover, Kristine Michael’s work has become more abstract and sculptural and doesn’t allude to the vessel, except as an occasional metaphor. She works in mixed media — fibreglass, textile and metal to extend the boundaries and scale of clay work, and is able to do it with aplomb.
Meanwhile, Reyas Badaruddin’s sculptures “painted” with fire are charming in both their scale and form. The aesthetics are balanced and sophisticated. His work is technically challenging wheel forms thrown together with hand sculpted architectural forms designed with the Anagama kiln in mind. This is an ancient type of kiln using wood to bake the pottery.
Atul Bakshi, the talented sculptor, has allowed himself the freedom to let the “isms” fall away to lead the way to a new ism — where he is at once the protagonist and the onlooker.
All these sculptors are artists known for the depth of their maturity, which is evident in the way they have tackled their chosen medium and its culmination. But then this exhibition certainly has a resonance — metaphorical or otherwise — as the works are mirrored and rooted in the realm of reality, and like meteors they have come to light up the skies of the artistic and aesthetic experience.
Dr Alka Raghuvanshi is an art writer, curator and artist