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Breaking Ground: Indian Ceramics Triennale

Crafting with clay

No denying there’s a growing interest in ceramic art today.

Crafting with clay

Spotlight on ceramics: (Clockwise from above) Madhvi Subrahmanian’s Untitled work; Reyaz Badaruddin’s Still Life; Anjani Khanna’s Unnamed work. Photographs courtesy: Shine Bhola and Jawahar Kala Kendra, Jaipur



Swati Rai

No denying there’s a growing interest in ceramic art today. A burgeoning number of weekend pottery classes, attended by hobbyists and art connoisseurs in equal measure, hold testimony. However, this interest has been belated as other forms of fine art have traditionally taken centrestage. The latest chatter around ceramics and ceramicists has grown manifold due to an ongoing exhibition of the finest work in the genre, Breaking Ground: Indian Ceramics Triennale, at the Jawahar Kala Kendra (JKK) in Jaipur.

A contemporary interpretation of the art form, the artist-led exhibition aims to free art from the haloed circles. “We want to ensure that this art form is accessible to people who would have otherwise not had the chance to see these artworks. Also, the idea is to let people come and savour it and not be intimidated of visiting private galleries and museums,” says Pooja Sood, director general of JKK.

With major Indian and international artists attending, the show could change the way ceramics is seen in India.

Followers of the form swear by its diversity. Ceramicist Anjani Khanna shares her love for the art form: “Clay is an incredibly expressive medium and can be used in diverse ways. It promises tremendous opportunities for expression of conceptual and formal concerns.” It is this malleability of clay that the ceramicists enjoy playing with. From earthenware, terracotta, stoneware and porcelain to unfired clay, artists are experimenting. Many are making use of technology and amalgamating it with other media such as wood, metal, light and darkness, theatre and films, etc.

Take Vineet Kacker’s work, for instance. Titled Endless Landscape, it is a play of stoneware, wooden ply, digital printing and mirror glass. It highlights the mystical, magical and timeless quality of the experience of walking through the mountains. “World over, ceramics has thus far carried the baggage of history, of functionality, of materiality, yet, it is a medium that can equally be used in hi-tech and down-to-earth ways, and this will make it relevant in a post-industrial digital world.”

Theatre of light and darkness plays out in Singapore-based Madhvi Subrahmanian’s untitled work, which is an abstract distillation of city structures and floor plans exploring the window as a key architectural component that facilitates sight and perspective. Juxtaposed against the windows is a ‘forest of shadows’, reminiscent of Jaipur block printing, created by form, material and play of light and shadow. The work is a dexterous blend of stoneware, light, shadow and projection.

Reyaz Badaruddin is fascinated by the way a simple three-dimensional ceramic object becomes a component of a still life painting. His work, Still Life, currently on display, uses porcelain, terracotta, wood, and acrylic on canvas. Here, Badaruddin investigates the relationship between ceramic objects and their representation in paintings.

He says he can see an exciting change happening in the ceramic art landscape. “I have noticed a big evolution in the field of ceramics in India. With so many international connections made possible thanks to the Internet and travelling to residencies, ceramic artists have access to new ways of learning like never before.”

At a time when the digital world is pushing people to appreciate tactile materiality in art, what more can be done in this constantly evolving art space? “Events, education and practice require constant review to promote art, ceramic or otherwise. We need to have more and more people making, appreciating, supporting and consuming art,” says Subramanian.

While the collaborations and co-learning are a heartening trend, a lot needs attention. Kacker bets on better art education. “The focus has to shift from acquiring a good understanding of the technical and material processes in ceramics to the evolution of art practices through informed curation and dialogue. We need to challenge existing preconceptions and include new processes in our craft.”

However, with quality art education missing, we need to develop interest and technique in the subject. “Unfortunately, there aren't enough quality university courses for ceramics in India, and in a lot of places, the standard is not what it ought to be. The Indian ceramic artists who are doing well today have reached where they are through their personal initiatives and self-motivation,” Badaruddin says, adding that if this loophole is plugged, Indians, who have a rich history and legacy behind them, can have an even more fantastic ceramic art repertoire.

On at Jawahar Kala Kendra in Jaipur till November 18

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