Artists sculpt stories in stone at Leisure valley

Sculptors from the tricity include, Vishal Bhatnagar, Sanjeev Kumar, Rajesh Sharma, Nitin Dutt, Hriday Kaushal, Gurmeet Goldie, Rajender Kumar, Parminder Singh, Harpal, Parvesh Kumar, Ramandeep Singh and Pardeep Kumar. Renowned sculptor from Kerala, Valson Kolleri, who is here after 40 years, says he has no per-conceived ideas before he begins work. “Stone has such a strong character and can withstand any climate. To work with stone, it is very important to have focus.”

Chandigarh, its spaces, architecture, grid pattern and geometry have inspired Nitin Dutt, who was born and brought up here and now teaches at the Banaras Hindu University. Chandigarh as a modern city and Banaras one of the oldest cities, are two opposites and distict realities that Dutt can’t get away from. His art notices these polarities and Dutt’s sculpture is a combination of crafted geometrical shapes, with some part of stone left natural and a grid pattern part of the sculpture.

Rajender Kumar, who has lived in the city for all his life, is also inspired by it. Working on a big stone, he leaves a major part of the stone in its natural shape and texture and explains, “Like Le Corbusier left many spaces empty in this city, giving it a unique character and form.’’

Sanjeev Kumar describes his work as simplified geometry on the theme of Ardhnarishwar. “Working on stone can be tough. There is no scope for mistakes as changes are hard to make. But that is also the beauty of the medium,” says Kumar. Vishal Bhatnagar, the coordinator of the workshop, uses Indian iconography for his work on fiberglass, bronze and now stone. “Moon is everyone’s, as is the sun and earth…God had no form, the rest we have humanised it and that is the philosophy of this work.”