For her latest show in the Capital, titled Through the Leaves to the Stars, artist Dimpy Menon worked outdoors. She says, “The sculptures making up the show have taken birth in the outdoors, in the quiet of the early morning. I wanted to eternalise that personal experience.”
The 25 sculptures displayed, made using wood, bronze and stone, bring about a feeling of freedom to an onlooker. They further ask the viewers to stop and come face to face their own real self. Meditative and striking in nature, these sculptures are have a power to transport viewers to a different realm.
According to the artist, “When one looks up at a star in the early morning, one is awash with the eternal. I hope for the works to trigger this experience. To experience the expanse of the sky or the beauty of a butterfly, one needs to know no special language. These are gifts nature gives us and are expressed in an universal tongue.”
For some compositions, the artist used ethically-sourced wood. “Some of the wood incorporated in a few of the compositions are from a branch that has broken off. Then it has been sanded down and naturally polished to bring out the beautiful grains. I have let the wood fashion and guide the mood of the sculpture,” she says.
Menon completed her graduation in Fine Arts, College of Arts and Crafts, Chennai, with a top rank, in 1986; she majored in sculpture too. Menon was the first Indian sculptor to win the prestigious Lorenzo ilMagnifico award for sculpture at the Florence Biennale and in 2017 was invited a to TEDx 2017, Bengaluru.
Gallery director Anu Bajaj says, “Over the years, Dimpy has made the human form central to her expression. Celebrating its myriad forms, delving into its moods, meanderings and movements. In this show, the artist moves forth connecting the human form to the abundance of nature that surrounds it. She explores our dependence on it and hence connects our soul to it with her myriad expressions.”
AT: Gallery Art Positive, Lado Sarai
TILL: February 5