Showcasing works from 20 artists, ‘iSculpt for Delhi’ at  IIC’s Gandhi King Plaza will be an enhancer for the configuration between the sculpture and the space it inhabits

The third chapter of the ‘iSculpt for Delhi’ featuring works by 20 artists and is all set to transform the Gandhi King Plaza at IIC into a sculpture court. The group showcases three definite thematic creations.

Presented by the Delhi Art Society, the exhibition is curated by art critic Uma Nair. 

Divided into three sections, ‘Ecological echo’ is an ode to the environment. It features Satish Gupta’s Conference of the Birds, an elegy to the 5000-year-old Sufi poem that spoke of finding truth amidst hardships in the dialogues between two birds. 

Linking the ecological system in many ways and telling us the importance and imperative role of trees in the world is Dhannanjay Singh’s man and the tree as well as a ceramic artist and National Award Winner Keshari Nandan’s ‘Tree of Life’. Taking us beyond the context of nature and man is Rahul Modak’s ‘Monumenta 1’ that holds terracotta leaves with a holistic pillar in the intensity of leaves of time and decay and death and despair.

‘Evocative Heads’ on the other hand speaks about the human head. National Award Winner Arun Pandit’s ‘Head’ is an amalgam of pathos and pain. Yet another head of a different dimension is the marble head of Parmod K Mann entitled ‘Nymph’ which is a beauty to behold for its prismatic brilliance. In fibreglass and quaint is the head of Rakesh Kumar Gupta’s made of fibreglass. Bhola Kumar creates another large head done in stone which has a primitive aura in expression and compositional contours.

The last section ‘Evoking the spiritual fervour’ features hexagram origami artist Ankon Mitra, who shares Fountain of Folds for this show. To him, the ancient art of Origami is not only a child’s craft but a cutting edge cross-disciplinary technique that is being deployed by robotic engineers, space scientists, biotech researchers, mathematicians, computation experts, botanists, architects and artists to create solutions for the real world in the 21st Century.

Biman Bihari Das, one of India’s greatest Professors and sculptors, has Lord Buddha created in bronze which brings in an aura of deep spirituality and tranquillity. Rita Datta’s Madhav is veneration of Lord Krishna in bronze. Seema Kohli’s stunning sculpture ‘Riding the waves of wind and water’ is yet another meditative work. Kohli’s work will connect with the master Atul Sinha’s rosewood masterpiece Aradhak (Worshipper ) which reflects a universal aesthetic.

“At the Gandhi King Plaza, the configuration between the sculpture and the space it inhabits and shares with the viewer will contribute to this sensation. Sculpture should always be understood as having been placed and should be read in relation to the area it occupies. iSculpt for Delhi will be a well-staged enhancer for this sensation,” says curator Uma Nair.

The exhibition is on display at India International Centre from December 4 to 18

(Cover: Head by Arun Pandit)