Earthy Gods

Artist Manjunath Kamath’s solo is a brave attempt at rewriting history.

Written by Vandana Kalra

February 16, 2015 01:05 AM IST

2 min read

That Manjunath Kamath is a collector of folk art and has a fascination for traditional temple sculptures, dilapidated havelis and traditional ritual masks wasn’t known until now. His latest exhibition testifies to these influences, which have impacted his medium and expression. In “Postponed Poems”, his solo at Gallery Espace, Kamath returns to the world he was familiar with as a child growing up in the temple town of Mangalore, amid sculptors and craftspeople. “I learnt my basics in art from them, it’s much later that I came to know about art schools,” says Kamath, 42.

While the exhibition might be typical of Kamath in its wit, references to the mythological and the historical are more recent. Cast in terracotta, his sculptures combine the classical and the traditional. The trademark clay animation is absent, as are the photo narratives. The artist, instead, borrows from Indian miniatures for his delicate paper work and the gold leaf portrait drawings reference Buddhist Thangka paintings. So the Urdwalingakaratalamalaka pieces together terracotta in different colours to give a contemporary face to the urdwalinga Shiva sculpture (Shiva with erected genital), from 18th century Badami temple. “It’s like a re-writing history, a metaphor for the present situation where history has been manipulated,” says Kamath.

Intertwined in multiple limbs, for Kamath the man with several hands in Study For Innocent God is a godly figure created by him. It is how he imagines god to be, after scouring through a book on Shilpi Shastra. Like most others in Hindu mythology, the god has a vehicle too, in Vahana a hi-bred animal, with legs of a lion and a cow and the body of a bull. Kamath does not intend to return to his own history of fibreglass. “It’s too synthetic. Terracotta has an earthy nature and fragility. It’s also what remains, artefacts from Indus civilisation have sustained till now,” he says.

“Postponed Poems” is on at Gallery Espace until February 28. Contact: 26326267

Vandana Kalra

Vandana Kalra is an art critic and Deputy Associate Editor with The Indian Express. She has spent more than two decades chronicling arts, culture and everyday life, with modern and contemporary art at the heart of her practice. With a sustained engagement in the arts and a deep understanding of India’s cultural ecosystem, she is regarded as a distinctive and authoritative voice in contemporary art journalism in India. Vandana Kalra's career has unfolded in step with the shifting contours of India’s cultural landscape, from the rise of the Indian art market to the growing prominence of global biennales and fairs. Closely tracking its ebbs and surges, she reports from studios, galleries, museums and exhibition spaces and has covered major Indian and international art fairs, museum exhibitions and biennales, including the Venice Biennale, Kochi-Muziris Biennale, Documenta, Islamic Arts Biennale. She has also been invited to cover landmark moments in modern Indian art, including SH Raza’s exhibition at the Centre Pompidou in Paris and the opening of the MF Husain Museum in Doha, reflecting her long engagement with the legacies of India’s modern masters. Alongside her writing, she applies a keen editorial sensibility, shaping and editing art and cultural coverage into informed, cohesive narratives. Through incisive features, interviews and critical reviews, she brings clarity to complex artistic conversations, foregrounding questions of process, patronage, craft, identity and cultural memory. The Global Art Circuit: She provides extensive coverage of major events like the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, Serendipity Arts Festival, and high-profile international auctions. Artist Spotlights: She writes in-depth features on modern masters (like M.F. Husain) and contemporary performance artists (like Marina Abramović). Art and Labor: A recurring theme in her writing is how art reflects the lives of the marginalized, including migrants, farmers, and labourers. Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) Her recent portfolio is dominated by the coverage of the 2025 art season in India: 1. Kochi-Muziris Biennale & Serendipity Arts Festival "At Serendipity Arts Festival, a 'Shark Tank' of sorts for art and crafts startups" (Dec 20, 2025): On how a new incubator is helping artisans pitch products to investors. "Artist Birender Yadav's work gives voice to the migrant self" (Dec 17, 2025): A profile of an artist whose decade-long practice focuses on brick kiln workers. "At Kochi-Muziris Biennale, a farmer’s son from Patiala uses his art to draw attention to Delhi’s polluted air" (Dec 16, 2025). "Kochi Biennale showstopper Marina Abramović, a pioneer in performance art" (Dec 7, 2025): An interview with the world-renowned artist on the power of reinvention. 2. M.F. Husain & Modernism "Inside the new MF Husain Museum in Qatar" (Nov 29, 2025): A three-part series on the opening of Lawh Wa Qalam in Doha, exploring how a 2008 sketch became the architectural core of the museum. "Doha opens Lawh Wa Qalam: Celebrating the modernist's global legacy" (Nov 29, 2025). 3. Art Market & Records "Frida Kahlo sets record for the most expensive work by a female artist" (Nov 21, 2025): On Kahlo's canvas The Dream (The Bed) selling for $54.7 million. "All you need to know about Klimt’s canvas that is now the most expensive modern artwork" (Nov 19, 2025). "What’s special about a $12.1 million gold toilet?" (Nov 19, 2025): A quirky look at a flushable 18-karat gold artwork. 4. Art Education & History "Art as play: How process-driven activities are changing the way children learn art in India" (Nov 23, 2025). "A glimpse of Goa's layered history at Serendipity Arts Festival" (Dec 9, 2025): Exploring historical landmarks as venues for contemporary art. Signature Beats Vandana is known for her investigative approach to the art economy, having recently written about "Who funds the Kochi-Muziris Biennale?" (Dec 11, 2025), detailing the role of "Platinum Benefactors." She also explores the spiritual and geometric aspects of art, as seen in her retrospective on artist Akkitham Narayanan and the history of the Cholamandal Artists' Village (Nov 22, 2025). ... Read More

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