Pratibha by NGMA is a time capsule of India’s art history

Pratibha is a sampling of the diverse range of India’s sculptors

There is an ongoing exhibition of sculptures at the National Gallery of Modern Art in Bengaluru. Titled Pratibha, this exhibition showcases the works of artists from all over India, encompassing different media and eras in the country’s art history.

The art on display is part of the National Gallery of Modern Art’s (NGMA) collection and was specially curated for Pratibha by Darshan Kumar YU and Amrita R. While NGMA has hosted other multi-media exhibitions such as Laughing In The Vernacular, Darshan says Pratibha stands out for being a large format affair. In gallery parlance, large format refers to volume or body of work on display.

“This exhibition has been a long time coming and there is something to be said about an entire large format showing that revolves exclusively around sculptures,” says Pratibha co-curator Darshan Kumar, adding, “Apart from the expected 3D images, there are 2D pieces such as murals too.”

Pratibha was fashioned to cater to the varied tastes of viewers. “There is a vividity to sculptures as the medium, material, texture, culture, size and colour changes from one piece to the next. From wood and stone to plaster of Paris, cast iron and fibreglass — there are different kinds of works for viewers to enjoy which is the beauty of a sculpture exhibition.”

According to Darshan, there are two main reasons to visit a sculptures-only showing — first, it is not often one will get to enjoy the diversity of around 40 sculptures at one place, and second, “There is an unwritten narration to the works that is constantly changing; it is a great opportunity to see the work of certain artists such as S Dhanapal or Shyam Sunder, or others such as S Nandagopal who worked with silver or the bronze art of Valasan Kolleri.”

“At the gallery, the eye moves from figurative to abstract works; the language changes too — some are candid, others are intricate, some are suggestive while others are minimalistic. Such occasions give the viewer a chance to experience a certain kind of dialogue with the sculptures,” says Darshan.

With works by artists from the 1950s, Pratibha offers a sampling of historic and contemporary Indian sculptures and visitors can see the handiwork of iconic sculptors such as Meera Mukherjee and Piraji Sagara as well as modernists like Karl Antao and Sudarshan Shetty among others.