Deviprasad Chowdhuri

Sculptures had been the predominant mode of visual art in ancient India. A variety of sculptures are seen in Indian temples, caves and palaces that survive to this date. However with the advent of modernism in Indian art, painters took over the cudgels of avant-garde expression, while sculptors remained mostly occupied with commissioned works of statues.

Among the few important avant-garde sculptors of 20^th century India, the name of Deviprasad Chowdhury stands apart. A nationalist artist, Deviprasad had depicted the struggle of common man in British India in a style reminiscent of baroque and modern classicist works of contemporary India. His work “Triumph of labour” was one of the masterpieces of his time. Another important work today adorn the Gyarah Murti Marg in New Delhi.

However the father of modern sculpture in India was Ramkinker Baij. Ramkinker, was a prolific sculptor, who had used a variety of materials and experimented with many kinds of forms, geometric abstraction and minimalism. His disciples included such important artists like Sankho Choudhury who was later instrumental to the establishment of one of India’s premier art schools at Baroda.

In the post-independence era, Somenath Hore had come into prominence with his sculptures mostly made in the small format which could be carried and exhibited alongside paintings. . He is thus often credited for bringing sculptors closer to painters in the art circles. Somenath Hore was influenced by the communist movement and his works reflected the ideals of socialist realism.  He was one of the main sculptors of his time who was responsible for taking sculptures to common man.

Along with Somenath Hore, other important sculptors of this era are Satish Gujral, Krishna Reddi, Tapan Talukdar,

Post-liberalization era  saw the emergence of new ideals and art today no longer serves any dogma or ideology. Most sculptors now concentrate more on creating artworks which can inspire awe as can be seen in the works of Anish Kapoor,  Subodh Gupta, Ravinder Reddi and Dhruva Mistry.