Ranjani Shettar at the Institute of Contemporary Art (Boston)

Ranjani Shettar, Sun-Sneezers Blow Light Bubbless, 2007-2008, Stainless steel, muslin cloth, tamarind kernel powder paste and lacquer. Courtesy of the artist and Talwar Gallery, New York/New Delhi. Photo by John Kennard

By Raisa Clavijo

The tenth exhibition in the Institute of Contemporary Art’s Momentum series featured Ranjani Shettar, an artist born and based in Bangalore, India. Momentum examines new developments in contemporary art, inviting emerging artists from the U.S. and around the world to create new work for the ICA. Shettar created delicate sculptural installations that deftly blend the natural with the man-made, the landscape and the urban environment. Momentum 10: Ranjani Shettar, the artist’s first solo presentation in a U.S. museum, was on view from March 19 to July 13, 2008.

For the ICA, Shettar presented a new work entitled “Sun-sneezers blow light bubbles.” The suspended sculpture is made with tamarind kernel powder and muslin. Fashioned into organic shapes reminiscent of mushroom caps, soap bubbles, or multiplying cells, these forms are hung throughout the gallery, creating an immersive, dream-like environment. The title-a reference to the phenomenon whereby some people sneeze when exposed to bright light or the sun-reveals Shettar’s interest in science as well as a playfulness, both of which are seen throughout her oeuvre.

“The Momentum series takes a global look at the artists gaining pace in the field,” says Jill Medvedow, Director of the Institute of Contemporary Art. “Ranjani Shettar’s use of materials both organic and man-made suggests the complex cultural associations of India and the collision of tradition and modernity.”

Shettar’s use of tamarind kernel powder stems from her interest in traditional craft communities and their techniques. She visited the village of Kinnala, India, to learn about the material, which is used by toy and idol makers. In Shettar’s hands, however, the material is transformed into a diffuse atmosphere, one that transcends any particular time or place.

“Shettar’s practice is characterized by a vigorous exploration of new materials,” stated Emily Moore Brouillet, Assistant Curator at the ICA. “She starts with an idea and searches for the material that best expresses her vision. Whether scrap metal from junkyard-bound cars or lacquered beads handmade by Bangalore-area toymakers, Shettar transforms these unlikely materials to create something elegant and evocative.”

Shettar’s works are often site-responsive. While an artist-in-residence at Artpace in Texas, she incorporated local mesquite wood into smoothly sculpted forms that mushroomed from the wall.  For the 2007 Sharjah Biennial in the United Arab Emirates, she created “Me, no, not me, buy me, eat me, wear me, have me, me, no, not me,” a grouping of large woven metal vessels made from recycled cars which had been shipped to India to be dismantled and reused.

Shettar received a Bachelor and a Master of Fine Arts in Sculpture from the Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath, in Bangalore in 1998 and 2000, respectively.  Her work has been included in exhibitions such as How Latitudes Become Forms: Art in a Global Age (2003), Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; Landscape Confection (2005), Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus, Ohio; Zones of Contact (2006), XV Sydney Biennale, Sydney, Australia; and Still Life: Art, Ecology and the Politics of Change (2007), VIII Sharjah Biennial, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.  She was an artist-in-residence at Artpace, San Antonio, Texas in 2006 and is part of the 2007 Lyon Biennale, in Lyon, France.

For further information, www.icaboston.org