Anjali Venkat’s glass art show in Chennai draws from Nature

Anjali Venkat’s glass and fabric art now on display in Chennai

Copper florets with a glinting red centre, complement a green, layered carpet of lotus leaves. The stray reds, in a gradient shade, draw one only a few seconds later as more foliage, all made in glass, waits to catch the eye. It is indeed a garden of secrets. A beautiful one at that. 

If ‘more is more’ had a tangible manifestation, it would be this circular piece of glass art, made by artist Anjali Venkat. It is in this pseudo idiom that the glass artist thrives. Every single work of art at Apparao Gallery currently, demands a second, third and perhaps fourth look. Each look throws up something different. They are textured, and draw one in, inviting one to deliberate on these layers and what they could mean.

Opposite, is another beautifully crowded, symmetric circle, pregnant with leaves, neatly stacked one over the other, almost as thought they are caught in a gentle breeze.

“Everyday you look at it, you find something different,” says Anjali.

At Dance of the Five Elements — Fragments of Expression, glass becomes a mere conduit to understanding Nature and it’s ephemerality. Anjali draws from each element — earth, water, air, fire and space —  to create glass and fabric art that embody the beauty and transience of Nature. Each room in the gallery is now home to the artist’s interpretation of each element. 

Anjali has been working with glass over the last 30 years. To work with a medium that is as stubborn as it is beautiful; as risky and prone to breakage as it is intriguing, is no mean feat. She says, “Without challenge, it’s simply no fun. I have been doing this because it is difficult.”

“It seems abstract and easy but every single piece of glass that’s put in, is made with intention,” she says. This show has been in the works for 11 months. Anjali, who now lives in Singapore, uses only reclaimed glass and fabric for her work. A lot of the glass is from used bottles, broken windows or offcuts sourced from stores.