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Lot Essay
Ranjani Shettar’s unique non-figurative idiom has distinguished her work within the realm of contemporary Indian sculpture. Her practice, based in Karnataka, celebrates the beauty of rural India while drawing attention to the degradation of its natural environment. She addresses the social and ecological implications of India’s rapid urbanization from the vantage point of the rural, incorporating local materials and techniques in her sculptures. Rooted in the indigenous artistic traditions of India, her work breaks conventions and has carved a new trajectory for contemporary Indian art.
While Shettar’s sculptures resonate with Western Minimalism, her emphasis on Indian techniques and materials make them distinctive. Remanence from Last Night’s Dream illustrates a technique frequently adopted by Shettar, which originally stems from a traditional craft used by local artisans in the Channapatna town of Karnataka, reflecting the many cultural references embedded in her practice. Her retention of the natural grain of the wood acknowledges the organic form of the material, while the details of the carved fissures illuminate her artisanal style. The log of wood with bright orange nodules embedded in it is reminiscent of a tropical forest, evoking surrealist imaginaries and drawing the viewer into Shettar’s subliminal world.
The artist’s 2018 exhibition, Seven ponds and a few raindrops at the Metropolitan Museum of Art marked a major milestone in her career, and in the representation of South Asian women artists in international museums. This year, her works will be featured in the solo exhibition 'Ranjani Shettar - Earth Songs for a Night Sky' at the Phillips Collection in Washington DC. Other museum exhibitions that have featured Shettar's works include solo shows at the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA), Boston (2008); the Modern Art Museum, Fort Worth (2008-9); the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (2009); and the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne (2011). Her works have also been featured in exhibitions at the Kiran Nadar Museum, New Delhi (2011, 2012, 2013); the Museum of Modern Art, New York (2010); the Wexner Center, Ohio (2005) and the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis (2003).
While Shettar’s sculptures resonate with Western Minimalism, her emphasis on Indian techniques and materials make them distinctive. Remanence from Last Night’s Dream illustrates a technique frequently adopted by Shettar, which originally stems from a traditional craft used by local artisans in the Channapatna town of Karnataka, reflecting the many cultural references embedded in her practice. Her retention of the natural grain of the wood acknowledges the organic form of the material, while the details of the carved fissures illuminate her artisanal style. The log of wood with bright orange nodules embedded in it is reminiscent of a tropical forest, evoking surrealist imaginaries and drawing the viewer into Shettar’s subliminal world.
The artist’s 2018 exhibition, Seven ponds and a few raindrops at the Metropolitan Museum of Art marked a major milestone in her career, and in the representation of South Asian women artists in international museums. This year, her works will be featured in the solo exhibition 'Ranjani Shettar - Earth Songs for a Night Sky' at the Phillips Collection in Washington DC. Other museum exhibitions that have featured Shettar's works include solo shows at the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA), Boston (2008); the Modern Art Museum, Fort Worth (2008-9); the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (2009); and the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne (2011). Her works have also been featured in exhibitions at the Kiran Nadar Museum, New Delhi (2011, 2012, 2013); the Museum of Modern Art, New York (2010); the Wexner Center, Ohio (2005) and the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis (2003).