India has a rich history of incorporating easily accessible materials found in nature into our daily activities and in our artwork. The intimate relationship we have with the earth forms the basis for a lot of our unique innovations and also narrates the story of ancestral wealth in design. This is especially true for a world that existed before the globalisation and hyper-industrialisation under which we are now mass producing all our daily objects; including handicrafts.
Reintroducing the lost art of revitalising ancient materials, ‘Back to Earth’ brings together a selection of small studios in India that have perfected various aspects of their craft, whether it’s a glaze recipe, a special form, the use of a brush, or by simply combining materials. Each tells a story unique to their ethos and the focus of the show is to make beautiful, usable artworks.
This show is curated by Shirley Bhatnagar, a celebrated potter herself, who is bringing together around 20 different designers from across India, each of whom has curated works of glass or ceramics for this show specifically. The inspiration for the show is derived from the fact that ceramics and glass are interrelated as minerals from the earth. Glass gives a clear view of the world, both literally and metaphorically and clay is the ground below our feet.
“This design show is meant to be a delightful sampling of contemporary and functional works. They carry the dreams, memories, artistic musings and practices of the makers directly into your home.”
— Shirley Bhatnagar (Curator)
Some of the studios participating are ‘Curators of Clay’ from Pune, ‘Aurang Studio’ from Kolkata, ‘Kopal Seth Studio’ from Maihar, and individual artists such as Reyaz Badaruddin from Himachal Pradesh and Saraswati Renata from Auroville. The exhibition is set in a 19th-century Portuguese-style house inside the beautiful Khotachi Wadi in Bombay and will go on till October 9, 2022.
Find them here.
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