Treasures of earth

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Though terracotta is an integral part of Indian art and tradition, it has become rare to find it in contemporary artworks. However, curator Rajan Fulari is revisiting the history of terracotta with an ongoing exhibition “Mystery of Mysterious Terracotta” at Niv Art Centre, Neb Sarai.

A show of terracotta masterpieces by Rahul Modak and sixteen senior women artists including Alka Raghuvanshi, Seema Kohli, Anupam Sood and Nupur Kundu, is bringing back attention to terracotta.
Painter Alka Raghuvanshi’s artwork on display is her impression of underwater life. “Underwater life has always petrified me yet fascinated me. I believe there is life under those water layers and most of my paintings reflect a journey to this life or civilization. I have tried to create the same with terracotta,” says Alka, who found it very easy to work with the base material.
“Being a woman, it came very easy to me as I linked terracotta with dough. Since we are in constant touch with dough, working with terracotta was effortless,” says Alka.
An artist and professor at College of Arts, Anupam Sud, dabbled with terracotta for the first time in her life. “I was famous as a print maker and had always craved for touch of terracotta all my life. When this opportunity came my way, I welcomed it warmly,” says Anupam, who crafted a three-dimensional woman figure on a terracotta sheet.
“Terracotta has a long history in India and artworks from Rajasthan are a standing example for it. However, it is sad that terracotta is not used much now. Most of the artists use contemporary material and go beyond history,” adds Sud.
Artists Rahul Modak is showcasing his work in a separate room. A resident artist if Niv Art Centre, Rahul, has created an elaborate artwork of a path covered with terracotta leaves, implying dry leaves.
“The idea behind this artwork covers two aspects, one is nature and the other is socio-political situation of a village. On one hand these dry leaves signify nature, on the other hand it tells the story how people still collect them to cook their meal,” says the artist who is a native of Shantiniketan. “I have always worked with terracotta as I aim to revive interest in the material. Besides this, I wish to explore this medium in contemporary way,” ends Rahul.