G Ravinder Reddy

Ravinder Reddy's sculpture is heraldic. Many of his sculptures are gigantic heads. They invariably look straight ahead with wide-open eyes, a characteristic attitude of those who proclaim. None of the sculptures look to the side or over his shoulder. He who predicts can extract material from the past, but he only has to address the future. And the message, or prediction, that is about to be announced can be read from sculpture to sculpture in the golden blazons, or in the burning red that covers the head, or in the complex hairstyles of the female heads, all of them emblematic designs.

In his search for forms that could satisfy his sculptural instincts, Reddy went back to earlier periods of civilization (Egyptian and early Greek) where conventions of extreme simplification and frontality prevailed. This bold step back is for me a kind of confirmation of the authenticity of the role of herald.

A convention is a given, predictable way of doing something. When it becomes an end in itself it is arid. When combined with deeper needs, such as the projection of a shared philosophy, it can enable a work of art. The conventionalizing impulse in Reddy is vigorous, although for other needs. I will risk making a far-fetched interpretation. It is the silenced voice of Indian sculpture, one of the largest the world has seen, that attempts to address a possible future renewal. However, there is another element in Reddy's sculpture that prevents the convention from becoming dry. It is the repeated burst of sensuality. Even when the subject may not be overtly sexual, sensuality colors and modifies convention, infusing it with irregularity, mischief, and all that good stuff. Sensuality is serene, in most cases the sexual impulse does not speak of excitement, but of plenitude.

The sculpture is a wellspring of a world of images from the flat, uniform surface in which they were previously hidden. The sculptor simply reveals them, or so it seems. This sense of apparent ease goes hand in hand with the emotional and structural informality of Reddy's latest works.

BORN

1956 Suryapet Andhra Pradesh

EDUCATION QUALIFICATIONS

1990 Teaching at the Department of Fine Arts, Andhra University, Visakhapatnam.

1984 Short Course Certificate (Ceramics), Royal College of Art, London

1983 Diploma (Art and Design), Goldsmith College of Arts, University of London

1982 Master of Fine Arts (Creative Sculpture), Faculty of Fine Arts, Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda

1980 Bachelor of Fine Arts (Sculpture), Faculty of Fine Arts, Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2008 Grosvenor Vadehra, London

2007 Select Sculpture by Ravinder Reddy, Bose Pacia Gallery, New York

2007 Incredible India, Le Jardin acclimation, Paris, France

2003 Sculptures at Walsh Gallery, Chicago

2001 Monumental Sculptures, Media Gallery, Apeejay Techno Park, New Delhi

2001 Popular Cultures, Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburg, USA.

2001 Monumental sculptures, Deitch Projects, New York

2001 Lakshmi Devi, Sackler Gallery, Washington DC

2001 Devi, Sackler Gallery, Washington DC. USA

1997 Sculpture, Art Today Gallery, New Delhi.

1991 Painted sculpture and reliefs 1989-91, Sakshi Gallery, Chennai and Bangalore

1990 Center for Contemporary Art, New Delhi

1989 Hutheesingh Visual Arts Centre, Ahmedabad

1989 Max Mueller Bhavan, Hyderabad

1982 Contemporary Art Gallery, Ahmedabad

1982 Fiberglass sculpture, Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai

1981 Fiberglass sculpture, Artistic Heritage, New Delhi.

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2014 Immutable Gaze Part I Masterpieces of Modern and Pre-Modern Indian Art, aicon Gallery, New York

2014 In Between, Sakshi Gallery, Mumbai

2013 Ideas of the Sublime, presented by Vadehra Art Gallery at Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi

2012 Diva, Sakshi Gallery, Mumbai

Gallery Collection 2012, Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi

2012 Mappers The Evolution of Contemporary Indian Art, Aicon Gallery, New York

2012 Contemporary A selection of modern and contemporary art, presented by Sakshi Gallery at The Park, Chennai

Sightings from 2012, Sakshi Gallery, Mumbai

2011-12 Back to School Baroda 1979-89, Tao Art Gallery, Mumbai

2011 Adbhutam Rasa in Indian Art, Center for International Modern Art (CIMA), Kolkata

2011 In Beauty, Walsh Gallery, Chicago

2011 Go Figure, Smart Museum of Art, University of Chicago, USA.

2011 Anecdotes, Sakshi Gallery, Mumbai

2011 High-Light, presented by Sakshi Gallery, Mumbai at The Oberoi, Gurgaon

2011 Back to School Baroda 1979-89, Palette Art Gallery, New Delhi

2010-11 Monumental, Walsh Gallery, Chicago

2010 Indian (Sub)Way, Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi, Grosvenor Vadehra, London

2010 Third Dimension, Sakshi Gallery, Mumbai

2010 Modern Folk The roots of popular art of the modernist avant-garde, Aicon Gallery, New York

2009 Indian Summer, Galerie Christian Hosp, Berlin

2009 Inaugural Exhibition, Sakshi Gallery, Taipei

2008-09 Body Chatter, an exhibition of contemporary Indian art, Walsh Gallery, Chicago

2008 Freedom 2008 Sixty years after the independence of India, Center for International Modern Art (CIMA), Calcutta

2007-08 India Art Now Between Continuity and Transformation, Province of Milan, Milan, Italy

2007-08 Indian art at Swarovski Crystal World Show, second exhibition, Tyrol - Osterreich, Austria

2007-08 Polyphonies, Hosp Gallery, Tyrol - Osterreich, Austria

2007 20th-century sculpture by Archipenko a Reddy, Grosvenor Gallery, London in association with Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi

2007 Indian Art III, HERE AND NOW, Young Voices from India, Grosvenor Gallery, London in association with Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi

2007 Private Corporate IV, A Dialogue from the Lekha and Anupam Poddar Collection, New Delhi, and Daimler Chrysler, Stuttgart Berlin at Daimler Chrysler Contemporary Potsdamer Platz Berlin

2007 Post Object, at Doris McCarthy Gallery, University of Toronto, Scarborough, Ontario, Canada

2006 New Space, 1X1 Art Space, Dubai

2006 The Third Eye, Lille, France

2006 Art on the Beach made by Indians, in St. Tropez, organized by the Enrico Navarra Gallery, Paris

2006 The Garden Party, Deitch Projects, New York

2005 Endless Terrain, presented by Interiors Espania at Lalit Kala Galleries, Rabindra Bhawan, New Delhi

2005 Perfect Body, Walsh Gallery, Chicago

2005 On Beauty, House of World Cultures, Berlin

2005 Are We Just Like This?, Vadehra Art Gallery at Lalit Kala Galleries, New Delhi.

2004 Iconography in Transitional Times, Visual Arts Gallery, New Delhi, presented by Sumukha Gallery, Bangalore

2004 The Androgyne, organized by Apparao Galleries, Chennai at Visual Arts Gallery, New Delhi

2004 Margi & Desi Exhibition, Lalit Kala Galleries, Delhi, run by Espace Gallery, New Delhi

2004 Sacred Space, organized by RPG Enterprise, Mumbai at Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai

2004 New Paradigms-II, organized by Threshold Gallery at Visual Art Gallery, New Delhi

2003 Enchanting the Icon, Sakshi Gallery, Bangalore

2003 Roots En Route, Queens Gallery, British Council, New Delhi

2003 Roadshow, Chennai, Bangalore, Mumbai

2002 Sidewinder, CIMA Gallery, Calcutta

2002 Human Park, Global Creatures Exhibition, La Virreinna Exhibitions, Institute of Culture, Barcelona

2002 Contemporary Indian Art from Private Collections of the Northeast, Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum, USA.

2002 Metal Shine, Palette Art Gallery, New Delhi

2002 New Paradigms, directed by Threshold Gallery at Visual Arts Gallery, New Delhi

2002 Creative Space, Sakshi Gallery Anniversary Exhibition, Visual Art Gallery, New Delhi

2001 Kitsch Kitsch Hota Hai, Gallery Espace, Visual Arts Gallery, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi

2001 Expanding Traditions, Deutsche Bank Gallery, New York

2001 Finding the Center in the Margin, Apparao Galleries, Mathi Garh, New Delhi

2001 The Human Factor, Guild Art Gallery, Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai

2000 Ships, Sakshi Gallery, Mumbai

2000 From, based on or obtained by Tradition, Nature Morte, New Delhi

2000 Global View of Indian Artists at Home in the World, Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai

2000 Combine-Voices for the New Century, Vis-a-Vis Center for Art and Design, New Delhi

1999 Edge of the Century, British Council Gallery, New Delhi

1999 Volume and Form, Singapore

1999 Legacy, Curiosity Gallery, Visakhapatnam

1999 Contemporary Art from India, Nature Morte Exhibition, Sydney

1999 6th Anniversary Art Exhibition, Surya Gallery, Hyderabad

1999 Small formats, Art Today, New Delhi.

1998 Private Mythologies, Japan Foundation Asian Center, Tokyo

1998 The Presence of the Past, Jehangir Nicholson Gallery, Mumbai

1998 Multimedia Art of the 90s, Center for International Modern Art (CIMA), Kolkata

1997-98 Contemporary Art Outside India of the South Asian Diaspora, Queens Museum of Art, New York

1997 Private Languages, Pundole Art Gallery, Mumbai

1997 Directions, Emerging Trends in Contemporary Indian Art, The Air Gallery, London

1997 Rediscovering the Roots, Contemporary Indian Art, Museum of the Nation, Lima

1997 Major trends in Indian arts, Lalit kala Akademi, New Delhi

1997 Appointment with Destiny Art from Modern India 1947-1997, Singapore Art Museum, Singapore

1996-98 Tradition Tensions Contemporary Art in Asia, Asia Society, traveling exhibition from New York to Canada, Australia, and Taiwan.

1995 Portraits, Sakshi Gallery, Mumbai, Bangalore

1995 Sculpture95, Espace Gallery, Lalit Kala Akademi Galleries, New Delhi

1994 One Hundred Years Collection of the National Gallery of Modern Art, National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi

1993 Director, Sakshi Gallery, Mumbai

1993 A Critical Difference Contemporary Art from India, Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff, Camden Arts Centre, London, Bluecoat Gallery, Liverpool, Huddersfield City Art Gallery

1993 India Songs Multiple Streams in Contemporary Art from India, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, touring exhibition in Australia

1990 Art Trends in South India, Regional Centre, Lalit Kala Academy, Chennai

1990 Kanoria Center for Arts Group Exhibition, Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai

1990 Small Sculptures of India, Accra, Ghana, on tour to Lusaka, Zambia, and the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, New Delhi.

1989 Timeless Art, Victoria Terminus, Mumbai

1989 Artist Alert, Rabindra Bhavan, Delhi, Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai, Hutheesingh Visual Art Center, Ahmedabad

1988 Indian Sculpture Today, Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai

SELECTED JOINT EXHIBITIONS

2005 In Transit 3, with Manjit Bawa at Alexander Ochs Galleries, Berlin presented by Sakshi Gallery, Mumbai

PARTICIPATIONS

2012 Crossings Time Unfolded, Part 2, Kiran Nadar Museum of Art (KNMA), New Delhi

2011-12 India Side by Side Indian Contemporary Art, part of the INDIA Exhibition! presented by the Ministry of Culture of Brazil and Banco do Brasil at the Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil, Rio de Janeiro, Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil, Sao Paulo, SESC Belenzinho, Sao Paulo and Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil, Brasilia

2011 Paris-Delhi-Bombay, Center Pompidou, Paris

2011 Of Gods and Goddesses, Cinema, Cricket India's New Cultural Icons, Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai

2011 Time Unfolded, Kiran Nadar Museum of Art (KNMA), New Delhi

2011 Art Stage Singapore, Singapore presented by 1 x 1 Gallery, Dubai

2010 Facing East Recent works from China, India, and Japan from the Frank Cohen Collection, Manchester Art Gallery, Manchester

2009 ARCOmadrid, Spain presented by curator Bose Krishnamachari for Panoroma India

2009 Indian narrative in the 21st century between memory and history, Casa Asia, Madrid

2009 3rd Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art, Moscow Biennale of Contemporary Art, Moscow

2009 Exposizione Universale, Galleria dArte Moderna e Contemporanea di Bergamo (GAMeC), Bergamo

2008-09 India Moderna, organized by the Institut Valencia dArt Modern (IVAM) and Casa Asia, in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture of Valencia, Spain

2008 Art Asia Fair Scope Miami 2008, presented by Gallery Sumukha, Bangalore

2000 Partage Exoticisms, 5th Lyon Biennale, France

2000 Kalam to Computer, organized by the British Council, New Delhi at the Crafts Museum, New Delhi

2000 SideWinder, workshop at the Center for International Modern Art (CIMA), Kolkata in association with the British Council, Kolkata

1999 Beyond the Future, Third Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art, Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane

1997 International Artists Workshop, at Garhi Studios, Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi

1993 Wood Carving Camp for Coordinators in the Department of Fine Arts, Andhra University, organized by the Regional Centre, Lalit Kala Academy, Chennai.

1993 Ceramic Workshop, Sanskruti Prathisthan, New Delhi.

1992 Pottery Camp, Regional Centre, Lalit Kala Academy, Chennai

1991 Sculptors Camp, India Habiart, collaboration with Kanoria Arts Center, Ahmedabad

1991 Sculptors Camp, Bharat Bhawan, Bhopal

1990 3rd Biennale, Bharat Bhavan, Bhopal

1988 Second Biennale, Bharat Bhavan, Bhopal

1999 Beyond the Future, Third Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art, Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane

1990 3rd Biennale, Bharat Bhavan, Bhopal

1988 Second Biennale, Bharat Bhavan, Bhopal

HONORS AND AWARDS

1998 Working Grant, Pollock Krasner Foundation Inc., USA.

1998 Senior Fellowship, Department of Culture, Government of India, New Delhi

1991-93 Youth Scholarship, Department of Culture, Government of India, New Delhi

1991-93 Sanskriti Award, Sanskriti Prathisthan, New Delhi

1982-84 British Council Scholarship for Higher Studies, United Kingdom

1980-82 Lalit Kala Academy Scholarship, Andhra Pradesh

1980-82 Sculpture Award, Lalit Kala Academy of Gujarat State, Ahmedabad

1980-82 National Academy Award for Sculpture, National Art Exhibition, Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi

ravinder reddy sculpture, ravinder reddy paintings