Legacy sculpted

There is an innate sense of romance and nostalgia when an artist chips away to create a marvel of art. An ode to the art of sculpture, ‘Sculpting the Century’ is a seminal show being held at Triveni Kala Sangam in New Delhi. Raza Foundation and Progressive Art Gallery present this selection of immersive creations, curated by noted art historian Yashodhara Dalmia.

What makes the show truly iconic is the oeuvre of the 23 artists on display, including stalwarts like Krishen Khanna, SH Raza, MF Husain, Akbar Padamsee, Satish Gujral, Gulammohammed Sheikh, K Laxma Goud, along with Himmat Shah, Pradosh Das Gupta, Meera Mukherjee, Somnath Hore, SK Bakre, KS Radhakrishnan, Mrinalini Mukherjee, amongst others.

The exhibition explores the idea of identity through sculpture by ‘balancing tradition and innovation’. According to Dalmia, “The curatorial approach was rooted in showcasing the continuum of India’s sculptural traditions — from the ancient Indus Valley and Mahabalipuram reliefs to the modern experiments of the 20th century. The exhibition balances heritage and innovation by tracing how sculptors redefined traditional methods like carving, moulding and chiselling into new vocabularies of form and material. Artists such as Ramkinkar Baij, Meera Mukherjee, and S Nandagopal reinterpreted indigenous and craft-based processes while infusing them with modernist sensibilities.”

The display features certain recurring themes like heads or busts by Padamsee and B Vithal in bronze, alongside Shah’s terracotta and bronze heads or Hore’s rendition of Tagore. Dalmia says the emphasis was on selecting artists who embody layering of the old and the new, or those who reinterpret history rather than just reference it. “From Meera Mukherjee’s adaptation of dokra casting to S Nandagopal’s temple-inspired metal tableaux and KG Subramanyan’s playful bridging of craft and modern art, each artist embodies the dialogue between inherited traditions and present realities. Their works archive older forms and techniques even as they create ‘new assemblages’ that speak to contemporary contexts. This interweaving of the historical and the current was key to choosing the artists,” Dalmia says.

The exhibition seeks to evoke a sensory and emotional experience, be it in the diversity of material or the concept behind each sculpture. From Hore’s bronze bird creation, to Shah’s ‘The Golden Egg’ in wood, terracotta and gold leaf; from Gujral’s ‘Untitled’ creation in cowrie shells, leather, burnt wood and ceramic beads to Vithal’s glorious Ganesha in golden-hued bronze, one can’t help but be awestruck at the range.

As Dalmia says, “Through Baij’s migrating family, Hore’s silent sufferers, and Gujral’s rhythmic celebration of life, visitors encounter both resilience and tenderness. The tactile presence of the sculptures — the weight of bronze, the texture of terracotta, the pull of fibre — invites viewers into a dialogue between stillness and movement.”

Interestingly, in the age of digital art, sculpture uniquely brings to the fore conversations about India’s cultural and artistic identity. As Dalmia concludes, “Sculpture connects deeply to India’s civilisational imagination. Across eras, sculptors have used different materials to express resilience, spirituality and human endurance. These tangible forms root modern expression in ancient sensibilities, offering physical evidence of continuity and renewal.”

— The writer is a New Delhi-based freelancer