This is an archive article published on November 19, 2018

Talking Heads

The display includes several familiar faces: from SK Bakre’s plaster bust of philanthropist and industrialist Sir Cowasji Jehangir to Ram Sutar’s bronze of Mahatma Gandhi, Sarbari Roy Chowdhury’s portrait of Ustad Ali Akbar Khan and Latika Katt’s bronze of Somnath Hore.

5 min readNov 19, 2018 01:23 AM IST

When Adwaita Gadanayak took over as the Director General of the National Gallery of Modern Art in 2016, he was introduced to its vast collection. In the coming months, he realised that it included several works that have rarely been exhibited. “The huge collection is meant to be shared with the public,” says Gadanayak. Much time was spent studying the collection and also restoring works that had been wrapped and stored for years. A sculptor himself, Gadanayak closely monitored works belonging to the medium. Now, he intends to exhibit them in a series of exhibitions in the coming months. “Unfortunately, the medium has not received its due. Sculpting is an expensive and labourious process that requires a lot of commitment from the artist. Many youngsters are not adept at it because they find it grueling,” says he.

So the first exhibition designed to fulfill the purpose, “Chehre” befittingly has at the entrance a sculpture of Rabindranath Tagore by Ramkinkar Baij, considered one of the pioneers of modern Indian sculpture. “He was a visionary, a true master and modernist,” says Gadanayak. Talking about the showcase, he adds, “The art of modern portraiture in sculpture can be seen majorly from the colonial times, but with this exhibition a focus is drawn on the individualistic creativity of the artists rather than a particular academic style. It is interesting to study the distinctive style of each artist — for instance Ram Sutar has a lot of detailing, whereas in Baij’s work the personality of the person also comes through. We have attempted to curate the exhibition in a manner where the portraits seem to be talking to each other.”

The display includes several familiar faces: from SK Bakre’s plaster bust of philanthropist and industrialist Sir Cowasji Jehangir to Ram Sutar’s bronze of Mahatma Gandhi, Sarbari Roy Chowdhury’s portrait of Ustad Ali Akbar Khan and Latika Katt’s bronze of Somnath Hore. Baij’s bronze portrait of Abanindranath Tagore also features in the exhibition, as do several portraits of Baij himself — if in Chowdhury’s 1965 bronze his features are chiseled and ringlets of hair stand out, in Tarak Garai’s 1989 work, the master is older and visibly haggard. “In a distinctive style, Baij experimented with unconventional material such as concrete, gravel and cement, looking to the rural landscape and tribal communities for subjects,” reads a panel that summarises the practice of sculpting in India. If we are told that the 50s were “marked by experimentation with wood and stone, in which the essential character of the solid block was retained”, in the next two decades “the sculptors celebrated the spirit of humanism and their work was also infused with a sense of the spiritual that is reminiscent of classical sculptural styles”.

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Incidentally, the sculpture of the month is Baij’s bronze titled Perambulator, with a mother carrying her child. He is also represented in “Roopantar”, another exhibition dedicated to rarely seen sculptures from the NGMA collection. On display is his horse head in cement. Right at the entrance of this exhibition is SK Tutu Pattanaik’s Dadi Ma Ki Kahani that invokes childhood memories, and SC Ahuja’s aluminium’s Musician. Ishwar Chandra Gouta experiments with terracotta in Putna Wadh. If Natraj Sharma’s Standing Man in fibreglass and wood stands tall and looks into the eyes of the viewer, a plaque on Pushp Betala’s 1983 metal work — with portraits of three men — reveals the work was priced Rs 4,000 in 1983, indicative of the art market back then.

Gadanayak shares how more exhibitions will be curated to showcase sculptures from the NGMA collection. He also plans to commission new work. “I want to promote public works. I also want to commission young artists, conduct workshops with them, invest in the future,” says Gadanayak. The larger aim is to make art less intimidating for the masses. “Cafe Lota is going to open in the premises in a few months. More interactive sessions on art and workshops are also being planned. We want to help people understand and learn about Indian art. They should feel proud of our art that has also received global recognition,” says Gadanayak.

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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