“When a sculpture is hanging, gravity has a huge role in creating both tension and flexibility.”
• Ranjani Shettar
Ranjani Shettar is a sculptor born in Bangalore in 1977, known for large suspended installations that combine natural and industrial materials. She took her bachelor's and master's in sculpture at the College of Fine Arts, Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath, Bangalore, in 1998 and 2000. Her work is in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Guggenheim, MoMA and SFMOMA.
She grew up in Bangalore during the tech boom, surrounded by engineers, and ended up building things out of wax and cloth instead. Here is the record.
Quick Information
The city was busy building software. She was busy building clouds out of muslin and tamarind paste.
Who Is Ranjani Shettar?
Ranjani Shettar is a Bangalore-born sculptor whose abstract installations draw on the natural world and traditional craft. Her gallery is Talwar Gallery in New York and New Delhi.
Where Did Ranjani Shettar Study?
She studied sculpture at the College of Fine Arts, Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath, Bangalore, finishing her BFA in 1998 and her MFA in 2000.
What Does Ranjani Shettar Make?
She makes large, often suspended sculptures from materials such as beeswax, sawdust, wood, muslin, lacquer, PVC tubing and stainless steel. Sun-sneezers blow light bubbles, from 2007 to 2008, uses steel, muslin, tamarind kernel powder paste and lacquer.
Where Has Ranjani Shettar Exhibited?
She has shown at the ICA Boston, the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, the Walker Art Center and the National Gallery of Victoria, and had a solo show at the Met in 2018. In 2023 she became the first Indian artist with a major presentation at the Barbican Conservatory in London, with Cloud songs on the horizon.
- 2004 Talwar Gallery, New York
- 2006 Sydney Biennale
- 2008 Carnegie International; ICA Boston
- 2018 Metropolitan Museum of Art
- 2023 Barbican Conservatory, London
Her early solo shows included Gallery Sumukha and Chitra Art Gallery in Bangalore, before New York.
Why Does Ranjani Shettar Belong in People of Bangalore?
She was born in Bangalore, trained at the city's Chitrakala Parishath, and grew up here during the tech boom.
I haven't interviewed Ranjani Shettar for this piece. It's pieced together from online research: published interviews, news reports, books and official records, cross-checked against each other. If you know Ranjani Shettar and spot something I've got wrong, tap the WhatsApp icon at the bottom right and tell me, and I'll fix it.
FAQs
Who is Ranjani Shettar?
A Bangalore-born sculptor known for large suspended installations.
Where did Ranjani Shettar study?
Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath, Bangalore.
Where can I see Ranjani Shettar's work?
In collections including the Met, the Guggenheim, MoMA and SFMOMA.
Seen Her Work in Person?
Tell me which Ranjani Shettar piece stopped you in your tracks. Click the WhatsApp icon at the bottom right of your screen and tell me. That is also the easiest way to reach The City 24/7 about anything at all, including nominating someone for People of Bangalore.
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