Important Notice

For Ravinder Reddy, women are the ultimate source of life and growth. In his monumental sculptural renditions of the female form, the artist gives visual expression to this belief, paying tribute to feminine sensuality, fecundity and power as they have been variously manifested in India – from age-old sacred temple art to more contemporary, secular images drawn from the popular, even kitschy culture of the bazaar.

“Reddy’s sculptures... For Ravinder Reddy, women are the ultimate source of life and growth. In his monumental sculptural renditions of the female form, the artist gives visual expression to this belief, paying tribute to feminine sensuality, fecundity and power as they have been variously manifested in India – from age-old sacred temple art to more contemporary, secular images drawn from the popular, even kitschy culture of the bazaar.

“Reddy’s sculptures reference both traditional India and contemporary Indian popular culture…The combination of the traditional and the new extends to the artist’s working methods as well – he fashions his models in clay, but his final sculptures are made of fiberglass, which may easily be embellished with paints (he prefers car paint) and metallic leafs and given the look of almost any real material” (Margery King, Ravinder Reddy, The Andy Warhol Museum exhibition catalogue, 2001, not paginated).

His voluminous, gilded heads have wide eyes lined with kohl, elaborately moulded venis or hair ornaments decorated with flowers, bejeweled ears and noses, and brightly painted lips that are expectantly pursed. Unafraid of embracing kitsch in his work, Reddy uses his overwhelming sculptures to explore its role and place in the development of Indian culture. Combining the high art of gilded religious icons with more common and loud references to Indian cinema and bazaars in his women’s vivid lipstick and glossy ornamentation, the artist provides his viewers with a unique perspective on both historical and contemporary India. As King explains, “Reddy brings Indian goddesses into the contemporary world, turns contemporary women into goddesses, and traces the popular culture path between goddess and pinup” (Ibid.). Though his methods are humourous, Reddy’s motivations to trace this path are perhaps a little graver. The bright patina of these heads also reflects a word of caution – that the contemporary trend towards the commoditization of Indian culture could consume it entirely in the near future.

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