Chiselled forms speak out

Driving towards the verdant picnic spots near Paud-Mulshi, about 15 km from Pune, is a quiet, little village -- Bhugaon. On the hill-top,...

Driving towards the verdant picnic spots near Paud-Mulshi, about 15 km from Pune, is a quiet, little village 8212; Bhugaon. On the hill-top, a little ahead of Hotel Daulat, on the left, is a faintly outlined house, overlooking the picturesque beauty around. Living here in quietude and semi-isolation is a very down-to-earth couple 8212; Sharad Kapuskar and his wife Swati.

At home, in his expansive studio and a trifle existentialist home, he is host to curious visitors 8212; some as deadly as the cobra, others benignly playful as the mongoose. But what catches your eye in the studio are the human forms. The Kapuskars are elbow deep in clay, sometimes modelling in wax and sometimes looming over a cauldron of hot, melted bronze waiting to be poured into a warm mould.

An Abhinav Kala Vidyalaya graduate, Kapuskar has been a prolific artiste. His passion took him to the railway station and bus-stands at night with sketch-pad in hand to produce sketches by the kilos8217;, instead of dozens. His study of the human form runs deep. And now, despite the lack of live models, he can delve deep into his subconscious to retrieve memories of forms, postures, expressions and other details of the human form to create stunning and live sculptures.

Kapuskar confronts the intricacies of the human form head-on and models it to symbolise the harmonious and flowing relation of form with nature. Even when he is modelling commissioned works, his individuality in the choice of facial expressions, mudras or body postures are not cliched. Whether it is Ambedkar after taking diksha8217;, or a much-exploited subject such as a seated Buddha, he adds original ideas, transforming the sculpture to a qualitative expression of art.

Works of Auguste Rodin, the master sculptor, have influenced Kapuskar. He has dealt with the mediums like bronze and stone-carving.

Kapuskar handles the mould-making and casting which requires knowledge of structural and chemical engineering. European sculptors use professional casting foundries to deal with casting alongwith the required infrastructure.

Each of Kapuskar8217;s sculptures throws up its uniquely intricate difficulties and the sculptor in him handles them as they come up, formulating his own homegrown engineering formulae with elan.

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The artiste has many famous commissions to his credit. One of them is a group sculpture. It depicts Shivaji, Sambhaji and a Mawla with a cannon, commissioned by Shiv Sena supremo, Bal Thackeray. It stands majestically at Juhu, in Mumbai.

Locally, he has to his credit those of Kasturba and Mahatma Gandhi at Aga Khan Palace, Pandit Bhimsen Joshi and Gangubai Hangal, a seated Buddha in life size and G D Birla. His recent exhibition at the Jehangir Art Gallery in Mumbai concluded on Sunday. At present, he is working on a life-size sculpture of Pandit Bhimsen Joshi accentuating the musical aspect of the personality in a unique expression in stone for the Lalit Kala Kendra, Pune University.