exhibition

Ravinder Reddy "Head"

19.Sep.08 - 10.Oct.08
by appt xxx

Contemporary Art Society
11-15 Emerald Street
London WC1N 3QL
+44 (0)20 7831 1243
cas@contempart.org.uk
www.contempart.org.uk
Tube Holborn, Russell Square, Bloomsbury / Soho

The contemporary art society and The Economist Group, in association with Grosvenor Vadehra, are pleased to present a new work by Ravinder Reddy, an internationally acclaimed Indian sculptor, at the Economist Plaza. The specially fabricated sculptural installation will coincide with Reddy’s first solo exhibition in Britain at Grosvenor Vadehra’s London gallery on Ryder Street.

Sculpted in fibreglass, Reddy’s monumental female heads are among the most visible and recognisable examples of contemporary South Asian Art. Reddy is one of the first Indian contemporary artists to draw critical attention in America as a result of his show at Deitch Projects in 2001. Reddy fuses pop and folk sensibilities with traditional Hindu sculpture. His works suggest a multifaceted femininity that is rooted in the past while embracing the contemporary world.

Decorated with brightly coloured, thick, red car paint and gold gilt, Reddy’s heads appear kitsch. However, their grand, confrontational stance and unblinking stare prevent them from becoming a comic spectacle–Reddy’s works would be out of place neither in a modern bazaar nor an Indian temple. Some are given ordinary Indian names while others are bestowed with the names of great deities. “My life force is women–they are the source of growth and life in my work.” Drawing inspiration from people he witnesses in New Delhi, these wide-eyed and self-assured women are the everyday goddesses of an urban age.