The memories of the horrifying events that Indian modernist  sculptor and painter, Amarnath Sehgal had witnessed during the Partition, is evident in most of the artist’s works. After having studied at the Lahore School of Art, Sehgal moved to Delhi where he started teaching and creating art that reflected the pain of a newly independent nation. The struggles of an individual are quite noticeable in his art, reports Pankil Jhajhria of The New Indian Express.

Some of Sehgal’s artworks are on display at the exhibition, ‘Sculpting the Century’ at Triveni Kala Sangam. Featuring works by 23 sculptors — including MF Husain, Akbar Padamsee, Amarnath Sehgal, Himmat Shah, Satish Gujral, B Vithal, Somnath Hore, Meera Mukherjee, and SH Raza — the show will be on view till October 13. 

Sculptural processes in India range from the Indus Valley Civilisation and the Harappan figurines, to the monumental works at Elephanta and Ellora caves and the wondrous Mahabalipuram relief carvings. The hiatus in carving, moulding and chiselling, however, during  the Mughal and British academic period provided a harsh break with the forms. In the early 20th century, Indian sculpture art adapted to the Western academic art traditions and the artists who trained in the Realist style at British art schools started working on secular subjects.

This was a significant departure from the ancient and medieval norms, where the artists worked on myths and deities. The  finely detailed Realist style which ensued continued with post Independence in art colleges but modernism had also emerged with individual artists and transcended colonial academism to the abstraction and subjectivism of styles. 

While speaking about the exhibition, curator Yashodhara Dalmia says, “The exhibition traces how sculptors across generations have redefined the act of moulding, carving, and chiselling to create what may be called a modern liturgy of forms.” This, according to the curator, highlights how artists, even after the interruptions of the Mughal and British academic periods, reconnected with indigenous art and expressed renewal in their work. 

Over time, Dalmia notes, Indian sculpture has become a field of experimentation where traditional aesthetics and modern thought coexist, without losing touch with cultural memory.