A burst of colours is not something one would expect from a show of ceramics but that’s the beauty of ‘Fired up’, a collection of works by nine artists from different parts of the country.
The ceramic pieces aren’t adorned with colours at random. There’s intent with which Australian artist Sally Walk indulges in a burst of yellow on spherical forms and Vinod Daroz uses shades of blue in his series Silent Shloka.
Sally’s spherical forms are curiously named Absurd, Silly, Crazy and Bizarre as she explores the idea of disguised eccentricities. The spherical forms in shades of brick red are adorned with black dots, spikes and in one piece, with vibrant yellow roses.
A few years ago Vinod Daroz exhibited his stoneware temple series. Silent Shloka is an extension of the temple series and we see a set of four ceramic plates with copper glaze, contrasted with blue conical structures. Moving away from religious symbols, the artist gives us spiritual and meditative forms.
Rakhee Kane’s wood-fired platters and vases are a result of her observation of everyday objects in rural India, with designs inspired from a commemorative stone to a wooden pillar in a shrine, in blends of browns and ochre. Visual imagery is also the forte of Vineet Kacker. The artist’s repertoire is evident through landscape tableaux, a pair of cymbals, and the iconography of Arthanareshwar in vibrant shades of ochre. Yet another dimension to how we perceive everyday objects comes from a ceramic Hoe by Ajay Kanwal. Jyotsna Bhatt’s ceramic work ranges from vases to a cat in stupor.
Mythology finds representation through Jayanti Rabadia’s pieces in stoneware and leather. Mahagiri, with an elephant, is noteworthy.
Among these is the Transformation series by Shampa Shah, with figurative terracotta horses, elephants and bulls. Here, forms take precedence over colour. S. Gopinath’s ceramic lotus is the centrepiece of the exhibition with a large iron base serving as a pot, bearing copper wires that end in large ceramic leaves and buds. In shades of brown, the artist creates an attractive piece using terracotta, copper, iron and steel.
The exhibition is on at Kalakriti Art Gallery till June 22.