Terracotta to Ceramics– a solo show by Bhuvnesh Prasad, Curated by: Uma Nair from 8th December to 14th December, 2016 at Lalit Kala Akademi, Rabindra Bhavan 35, Ferozeshah Road, New Delhi -110001 11am- 7pm
The show “Terracotta to Ceramics” is all about the hard work done by Bhuvnesh Prasad, where his perseverance and determination for ceramic work can be seen. Bhuvnesh today is still doing large terracotta pieces like modernistic terracotta bottles, though these have been created for commissions rather than for public consumption. His journey from traditional terracotta to ceramics has been long and full of different challenges. In a recent innovation he has started experimenting with terracotta cookware because he thinks there is great potential for the same – his ancestral home in Rajasthan still use terracotta cookware.
He constantly changes the clay content so that the different pots can be thin, light and elegant in finish. Bhuvnesh has a passion for Rajasthani drums and is a frequent participant at a lot of religious festivals where music and drum beating is de rigueur. These works are concerned with the creation of a vocabulary, of form and surface, through contrast. The pieces reference bowls, the archetypal form of ceramics. They are about containment, both in the volume of trapped air in the double wall and the shallow depression that could hold.
The event will showcase three section of his works named: Transparent Glaze and Reduction, Love for Rajasthani Drums and Simplicity of Forms and each of these section narrate a different story.
Transparent Glaze and Reduction: “This universe is full of forms in space, I have been doing forms and shapes for many years. I began with traditional forms that were done in my family but having assisted other ceramic artists I learnt that in pottery we can achieve unlimited forms and shapes”. His journey from traditional terracotta to ceramics has been long and full of different challenges. In this show he will be showing different types of works. Just like the nine planets he is trying to show nine different types of work done through terracotta clay. His terracotta work of the tabla is a reference point for the viewers to understand his journey.
“My work is a natural play between clay body, glazing and firing; with temperature ranging from 950-1050°c. In some of my works I have used the white glaze – and in some others that are terracotta shades, I have used the transparent glaze. I do not use any colour glazes-I create colour by using the technique of the reduction glaze – so in my process of creation there are no oxides and no colour,” affirms Bhuvnesh.
Love for Rajasthani Drums: He constantly changes the clay content so that the different pots can be thin, light and elegant in finish. Bhuvnesh has a passion for Rajasthani drums and is a frequent participant at a lot of religious festivals where music and drum beating is de rigueur.
These works are concerned with the creation of a vocabulary, of form and surface, through contrast. The pieces reference bowls, the archetypal form of ceramics. They are about containment, both in the volume of trapped air in the double wall and the shallow depression that could hold.
Simplicity of Forms: The architecture of the pots are simple and humble but confronted to generate grammar of shapes. The inside of the necks short or long, wide or narrow are related and contrasted to the outside profiles. Free marking on the interiors, gouged with rough humble tools; we see a machined finish on the outer skin, all reflecting the range of texture made possible within the rotating potter’s humble wheel in his studio at Janakpuri in Delhi. Between the two surfaces lies the rim, which is also seriously considered, as the significant interface between the outer and inner realities.
About the Artist
Bhuvnesh Prasad s/o Shri Giriraj Prasad was born on 1976 in Alwar, Rajasthan. He received skills of Terracotta Craft as a blessing from his father. He started in 1986 as a 10 years boy. In 1992 he left school and started working as a full time professional. His work got all around appreciation when he got State Award in 2000. He created a 10 Feet & 4 Feet Wide Pot in 2002 in Craft Museum, Pragati Maidan. He got National Award for his unprecedented work in 2002. He has taught Teracotta Craft to Students in Government & Priviate Schools. He introduced people to Electric Wheel. He took this art to the villages of Rajasthan and inspired not only Men but Women to adopt Pottery as a career. He got honored by Rajasthan Govt for this effort. He got South Asia UNESCO Award on 27th Nov 2005 for Quality & Excellence in Handicarft Products. He has created a pot as small as 1 mm and as big as 16 Feet.
