Heads-up! Ravinder Reddy’s monumental figures make a comeback

A drive through the south Indian countryside will give you a glimpse of the monumental tutelary deities that abound and ‘guard' the villages. These awe-inspiring figures find a contemporary resonance in the women-oriented sculptures and monumental heads helmed by artist G. Ravinder Reddy.

His new solo exhibition, “Heads and bodies, icons and idols”—his first solo in India after nearly a decade—opens in Bengaluru's RMZ Ecoworld Gallery tomorrow, and we are gearing up for a pleasant crick in the neck as we raise our heads to take in the giant figures that Ravinder is renowned for.

The exhibition covers his journey as an artist with early works from the 1980s to his present, ‘Devi'. Ravinder's work fuses pop culture and folk sensibilities but is rooted in Hindu sculpture traditions. His artworks border that trajectory between the real, the religious, the folk, and the pop, amalgamating the everyday life and projecting it into a more modern, contemporary setting.

灵感来自生活本身,艺术家confesses that the topicalities of his sculptural representations are not limited to transitional subjects of emotion and feelings. They are rooted in exploring forms that are universally understood and thus, push boundaries. He lets the idea define the medium and material. For him, the choice of material is secondary, secondary only to the idea itself.

Devi' by artist Ravinder Reddy's latest work at the Ecoworld foyer open and accessible to public

Modelled with remarkable finesse and skill, Ravinder's sculptural heads are wide eyed, look out frontally and gilded in the most vibrant colour palettes of gold, yellow, blue. “Yellow, for example, is significant both in everyday life (as turmeric) and is rooted in our religious associations.” His choice of primary colours is at once striking and captive. “You perceive the entire form and when you perceive the entire form, the sculpture's quality is enhanced,” he affirms.

The titles for some of his works are ordinary Indian names, while others are bestowed with the names of great deities, at once elevating them to a higher order, adding a sense of magnanimity to the mundane. Many are gilded, flaunting elaborate hairstyles, adorned with umpteen delicately sculpted flowers. The artist initiates a dialogue through his works, a dialogue between the traditional and contemporary pop.

Reddy is also reflecting upon the feminine image with a reverence for tradition, and yet, he embraces and appreciates the contemporary world. Among the sculptures on display are individual works, such as The Standing Girl with the Umbrella, Akshatyoni and a couple of reliefs that look like departures from the artist's oeuvre. They are symbolic of a point of transformation in the artist's practice, exploration and growth.

If the present venue for the exhibition is proof of a gradual alteration in outlook and accessibility of art by the common man, then Ravinder Reddy's works are evidence to the fact that his sculptures can storm into metropolitan sanctuaries of highbrow culture with a cool subaltern élan and also be at home in a ‘mall'.

Reddy corroborates that accessibility to art is a collaborative drive. He highlights the importance of art appreciation for children, beyond the gallery and museum spaces. “We cannot always say that my exhibit should be in a well-lit condition, in a secluded, guarded condition. That means you are restricting its accessibility.”

‘Heads and bodies, icons and idols' — a solo show of sculptures by G. Ravinder Reddy, on view till September 9 at The Gallery, RMZ Ecoworld, Bengaluru.