Talwar Gallery presents Between the sky and earth, an exhibition of Ranjani Shettar’s new sculptural works.

Continuing her innovative approach to material and engagement with nature, Ranjani Shettar’s recent body of multi-component sculptures pares antique rosewood, walnut and teak in unexpected and pliable forms. Uninhibited by their materiality, the works carved in solid wood are imbued with a certain poise and lightness. These unique forms, evocative yet elusive, collaborate with each wood’s distinctive grain, knots and fissures, at times guiding its lines and movement. Occasionally there would appear chisel marks or unpolished surfaces, as traces deliberately left by the artist to provide a gentle peek at her process. Appearing malleable as if molded by hand, these wooden sculptures stretch and bend across walls, curve and twist on the ground, while others gliding like the wings of a bird – float weightlessly in space.

Enigmatic and unbound, the environment Shettar creates with her installations is immersive and vibrant, surprising the viewer with their simplicity while enchanting with their magic. From early on the artist created non-traditional sculptures with materials and processes infused with history and tradition. Ranjani grew up in Southern India, where she still lives and works in the countryside, amongst edifices that have endured time as well as practices refined over centuries. Situating here, Ranjani has been able to draw upon the past, to extract form and beauty from nature to create works that not only connect across time but traverse the boundaries of culture, geography and possibilities.

Ranjani Shettar’s works have received international acclaim and have been the subject of Solo exhibitions at The Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA), Boston, MA (2008); The Modern Art Museum, Fort Worth, TX (2008-9); The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMoMA) (2009); National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia (2011); and Bhau Daji Lad Museum, Mumbai (2012).

Her works have also been featured in exhibitions at The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), NY; The Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN; Henry Art Gallery, Seattle, WA; The Wexner Center, OH; Museum of Contemporary Art, Detroit; Art Tower Mito, Japan; Contemporary Art Museum, Houston, TX; Hermes Fondation, Singapore and The Cartier Fondation, Paris, France. Shettar was invited as Artist in Residence at Artpace, San Antonio in 2006, TX as well as for the 5th Moscow Biennale; 55th Carnegie International; 10th Liverpool Biennial; 9th Lyon Biennial; 8th Sharjah Biennial; 15th Sydney Biennale.

Ranjani Shettar’s works are in the Permanent collections of The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York; The Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, New Delhi and The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMoMA). In 2012 in collaboration with The Museum of Modern Art’s Library Council, the artist created Varsha, a book with sixteen original prints.

Ranjani Shettar was born in 1977 in Bangalore, India. The artist currently lives and works in Karnataka, Southern India.

-Talwar Gallery Delhi

Image: © Ranjani Shettar
Courtesy of the artist and Talwar Gallery Delhi