Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Mangalore
Puducherry
Tiruchirapalli
Thiruvananthapuram
Vijayawada
Visakhapatnam
A perfect fusion in the pot
|
Ceramic works by B .R. Pandit and Abhay Pandit meet with an enthusiastic response
|
A BLEND Works on display at the Pandits’ exhbition at Art Heritage
His father used to provide clay vessels to the British in exchange for food grains. But, as metals like aluminium and steel began to replace clay pots, Brahmdeo Ram Pandit, now a famous potter from Mumbai’s suburbs, was struggling to survive.
However, he never abandoned the traditional craft. In fact, he honed his skill by studying at Thanapur in Karnataka and the J.J. School, Mumbai, mingling with Japanese studio potters, and taking inspiration from painters like Hebbar and Bendre.
He also joined Sophia College Polytechnic, Mumbai, and worked there for 24 years. To preserve the age-old craft, he designed clay plates, vases, and bowls, and blended them with new techniques such as copper red reduction and soda firing.
He treated them with unique shades of blue, turquoise, gold, green and red and produced beautiful artefacts.
Pandit, who began with Bonzai pots in 1997, now exhibits his diverse works in group and solo shows. A recipient of several awards, including the Kamladevi Chattopadhyaya Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007, he is now showing his works after three years at Art Heritage, New Delhi, this time with his son and disciple Abhay Pandit.
Modern designs
Abhay is a Charles Wallace Scholarship awardee. A graphic designer, he takes the techniques from his father and fuses them with modern designs. If senior Pandit plays with basic elements, the junior works on modern themes like optical illusion. He mirrors water waves, movements and currents in his sleek pots.
Says Abhay, who is trained under the U.K’s renowned studio potter Peter Frazer Beard, “I try to preserve the old by fusing it with the new. I can’t be totally old-fashioned because we are living in an age when those who can afford to buy these works want something modern and yet traditional. Sometimes this fusion leaves me in a dilemma, because that way we are neither here nor there. The works even threaten to become boring because everywhere, whether in European countries or Asian countries, you find a boring sameness. But, because I can produce traditional designs, I can fall back on them whenever required.”
The exhibition is on view till this coming Monday. The public’s reaction to the show can be gauged from the large number of works already marked sold.
RANA SIDDIQUI
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Mangalore
Puducherry
Tiruchirapalli
Thiruvananthapuram
Vijayawada
Visakhapatnam
|
