Experiment and originality at sculpture show in Delhi

A group exhibition, comprising sculptures by 50 Indian and international artists, organised by the multi-disciplinary art centre Art Ichol, in Maihar, Madhya Pradesh, is now on view at Delhi’s Triveni Kala Sangam.

These artworks are from the centre’s artist-in-residence programmes for international and national artists of repute, hosted by founder Ambica Beri ever since the centre’s inception in 2015.  Beri now brings to Delhi some of the most path-breaking sculptural works created during such residencies in a show titled The Art Ichol Sculpture Show.

The show features nearly 75 works in mediums like stone, bronze and ceramic by 50 Indian and international artists. Beri says, “Art Ichol provides a creative environment amidst a natural setting that inspires resident artists to add a new dimension to their art.  This exhibition is an attempt to showcase the same. We also bring out an annual journal on art and this year’s journal titled Natyam(Performing Art) that will be released on 1 December at Triveni Kala Sangam amphitheatre. The journal is the third in a trilogy, Drishyam(Seeing Art) and Vaakyam(Writing Art), being the first two.”

Some of the outstanding works in the show feature Megha Joshi’s Garbha-Griha: The Womb is the Only Home, in ceramic, wood and vermillion, created this year at Art Ichol. Joshi says, “While we may migrate for asylum, refuge, love, marriage or economic reasons, I find it interesting to note how people of the same citizenship define “home”—the point of departure for migration. Some identify it ethnically, some by their passport, some by kinship, some by their land of residence. So it becomes a matter of choice to some extent, to define where one belongs.

She adds, “This thought was triggered while meeting colleagues of various nationalities while simultaneously visiting temples. The innermost sanctum, the most sacred place in Hindu temples, is called the garbha griha or womb chamber. Perhaps the only home we all know—a nurturing place where we all have stayed, is the womb. Post birth, we are constantly moving and searching. Hence the work The Womb is the Only Home, a common place where every living being first belongs.”

Another artist, Debabrata De is in his late fifties and a Diploma holder from the Indian College of Arts and Draftsmanship, Kolkata.   A recipient of several award winning works, he has been working in bronze and terracotta, creating his engaging sculptures of rural folk, that invariably become a conversation piece where displayed.  In a relatively new medium for him, ceramics, he has maintained his signature style.

The show is on view till 9 December at Delhi’s Triveni Kala Sangam