It’s Glass … Handle with Care!

Water Woman by Dhruva Mistry

It was yet another invitation to a group art show with more than two dozen artists across all age groups participating. Yawn, yawn. I wasn’t in any mood to go, what with the sun blazing away overhead, to see a bunch generally old artworks pulled down from the attic, just to please some unimaginative art organizer friend putting together a show. Then I got a call from Himanshu Joshi, one of the participating artists, requesting me to attend the exhibition. When I resisted, he said that Jyotibhai (Bhatt) who had just left the exhibition asked him if they had sent me an invite and if I had attended. That threw me off a bit. Jyotibhai would not ask such a random question without reason … there must be something special about the show; and I needed to find out.

Untitled by Nikunj Kalgiwala

And there certainly was! The show’s title, Handle with Care, should have alerted me to the fact that the exhibition would be displaying artworks in glass, but when I saw the interminably long list of artists, I didn’t even bother to read the invite carefully. My bad. Many, many moons ago, I remember seeing reverse paintings on glass made by K G Subramanyam in an exhibition organized by the Urja Art Gallery at the Sardar Patel Planetarium in Sayaji Baug. Much later, I saw Chandrashekhar Patil actually using glass to sculpt unusual fishes that were displayed at the Artcore Gallery (then on the mezzanine floor of the Panorama complex on R C Dutt Road). Around that time, Sashidharan Nair, teaching in the Dept. of Painting, Fine Arts Faculty, had also started experimenting with glass and it had interested a number of students as well. Very soon, the Fine Arts Fair proudly presented a stall selling artworks and functional craftwork made from glass in every Fair.

Untitled by Anuj Poddar

Soon enough, a number of artists began working seriously in glass – Anuj Poddar, Vijay Roy (he works from Ahmedabad), Nikunj Kalgiwala (started a full-fledged glass-working studio called Glass ‘n’ Image in Gorwa in 2001), Nilesh Kumawat (a brilliant artist experimenting in innovative ways in glass; unfortunately he did not participate in this show). I think it was last year or so that Sashidharan was commissioned to make a glass sculpture on the terrace of Atul Dalmia’s home. Patil still continues pottering about in glass, experimenting with lights and stuff to highlight the unevenness of the material as against its smoother possibilities too.

Studio Glass Art by Vijay Roy

The current exhibition, curated by Nikunj Kalgiwala with the support of Patil and Joshi, helped interest many more of the Baroda artists to work in this medium, especially with the younger artists, such as Tej Jaradi. Joshi coaxed late sculptor Mahendra Pandya’s son to fish out four works in glass with mixed media that he had done but few knew about. Dhruva Mistry’s two artworks were a throwback on the figurative silhouette that is his signature image but his third work was breathtaking.

Breath by Trupti Patel

For years, Trupti Patel has been collecting soil and ash from different states of the country and I guess she has used bits of it in creating Breath, a work that mimics the natural movement as one/country breathes in and out! Ajay Kanwal was truly impressive with Someone Inside, a minimalist work that highlights mystery with terror, showing just the imprint of 5 fingers on a sheet of glass. Pir Shodan was the name of a dramatic ceramic and glass artwork by Dr. Lucky Tonk (now teaching in Agra), a medley of differently coloured and shaped plant leaves growing out of a tyre (made with ceramic). But the most visually stunning work was Frosted Slice, an absolutely fabulous piece comprising glass, wood and marble, made by Deepak Khatri. Full marks for this one!

Deepak Khatri’s Frosted Slice!

Some of the artists worked with mirrors as well, paired with glass and other materials (Nikunj Kalgiwala, Nirzar Kalgiwala) while others printed on glass, a technology easily available now (Joshi, Arunanshu Chowdhury, Shaik Asgharali). The exhibition showcases the vast spectrum of techniques that go into the creation of studio glass art – acid etching, glass fusing, engraving, sand-blasting, kiln casting, torchwork, digital printing on glass and mirror. In addition, artists often use stone, wood, metal, clay, fiberglass, papier mache and LED lighting to get the full effect that they want to create. It is difficult to photograph glass works so the images are not the best. This exhibition deserved to be seen and so four days at the Fine Arts Gallery were really not enough to do full justice to this unusual show.

Teranova by Tej Jaradi

While on the subject of art exhibitions that are more like mini Melas than a space that allows and encourages reflection, I would like to talk about From Field to Frame. This was one exhibition (held a few months back) that encouraged reflection. Put together by artist Raju Patel, who thought of a simple yet forgotten idea – going sketching in the outdoors – and got all his mates sitting around having tea at masi’s or Vishnu’s, to spend Sunday mornings going to different parts of the city and sometimes to nearby villages just to sketch. I had been following this group, Outdoor Sketching, on Insta for many months and was impressed by photos of known and not-so-known artists as well as students of the Fine Arts huddling over sketchbooks, drawing away.

Raju Patel spearheads this amorphous group, deciding where to spend the next Sunday morning that is informed to group members on Whatsapp. It is an amazing experience to sit under the shade of a tree and sketch the scene that stretches in front of you, he says. So many of us have become aware of the numerous lakes and ponds and fascinating trees on the outskirts of our town and how beautiful they are. We are often joined by village children who hang around us watching what we do. Some of us teach them, giving them paper and pencils to draw. They look forward to our visiting their village again and again. So when Patel decided to have an exhibition of selected sketches made by the Group, it did come like a breath of fresh air! Next time he announces such a show, make sure you do visit!

Sketches by Raju Patel