Sometimes in the capital city of Delhi,you discover a fresh creation, an artist who shows promise. This is Hariprasad, a young sculptor who showed recently at the Lalit Kala Akademi,at Delhi. Untouched by market pressures the true son of an artisan, an award winning sculptor.2006 brought him to do a show that was unforgettable. The gentle beauty of the expression in a single stone form -- surprisingly -- sort of sneaks up on you. Possibly this is because you think you don't know what to expect. You have been beguiled by images of assertive, wildly sculptural forms by run of the mill sculptors all over the country, for so long that somehow you are lulled into thinking you've already seen this. Yet nothing quite prepares you for Hariprasad's ability to evoke serene, evanescent qualities in the stone works that he unravels for this show. The human form in stone, is indeed a dynamic sculpture in the cityscape, but it entices rather than asserts when Hari's hands mould it .Perhaps this is why he was selected for ARTIADE 2004,at Athens where he presented a sculptor called `He'. `My works have always reflected the observations and assumptions of the common Indian,' he says. `Globalisation has forced me to compete with technically developed nations, but I am comfortable with my technique. My work at ARTIADE was based the sad incident of the Andhra farmers committing suicide. The challenging and persistent nature of the Indian with his courageous looks, even though he is in the middle of great struggle, that is what I wanted to reflect, 'says he. The human in these works, is humble, he is passive and emotively silent as if wanting to contemplate on his destiny. The sculptures have a monumental strength about them, its lilting abstract geometries flow seamlessly into one another, and its billowing fish, hung from a shoulder, seems alternately to reflect and absorb the changing natural light. And then there is the couple, the man and the woman, He and She,a surprise within a surprise, a spacious cocoon of rotund roundedness, both holding hands but facing opposite directions. The orchestra of emotions is what surges, as they stand in companionable silence. So much can be said in the symbol of a single expression, a single gesture. The culminating visual accent is a marvel within a marvel, an astonishing simplicity that speaks in the depth of its intent, into an expressive angst. Hariprasad works hard, moulds his sandstone to a pitch of realist textural terrain into which he imbues a sordid strength so that he fashions within `courage against physical and psychological pressures. `I have always tried to sculpt my observations and assumptions to show the triumph of the human spirit, 'says he, and he is able to shape the chisel and delineate its surfaces for a resonant smoothness. `The impalpable becomes important than the tangible, 'says he, through my sculpture I have also been initiated into the meditative experience. I always search for substance in my surroundings.' His images do not converse. Yet it feels as if they speak softly, almost in a whisper. The ten figures in this show are almost like a monumental civic enterprise. They conceal their conflicts, bruised egos and dramatic changes in both form and function. But the happy ending of the reality in stone, obliterates much of the confusion and pain. By uma nair at 2006-07-02 01:29

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Video Comments

mene dekha tha ye show.. good show tha ...
izhar

i love the scupltures here, but the camera work was a bit too wobbly camera for me.
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