Artists Directory >S G Vidhashankar Stapathy

" Other modern sculptors have to go to a temple to see the deity or a frieze or a vahana to discover the number of hands or the kinds of symbols accompanying each concept. But all those details are imprinted in my mind by hereditary transmission so that I can mentally visualise what I want, and go on to achieve it in my medium, I know the tantrik concepts and the dhyana sloka of each image as well as I know the methodology of their execution in store or metal or wood. This gives my compositions a proportional accuracy and balance which are missing in the works of many other modern sculptors. I believe even distotions must follow a norm to impart repose, equipoise and vibrancy. They transform your art object into living sculpture. Traditionalists will never accept anything other than the art made according to the traditional canons. There is truth, sincerity and justice in their commitment. Why, without that strong foundation in the past, there can be no present - the new will have no meaning, no existence, no beauty. But I cannot live in a confined past. I see changes everywhere and I want my work to reflect those elements of change. I want it to be part of that change. I don't want to live in yesterday's dreams. I want to stimulate the reality of the present in myself, in my thought, and of course in my work." 

Chronology

Born : 1938

1961 : First Class Diploma in Fine Arts (Sculpture) from the Government College of Arts and Crafts, Chennai;
1964 : First Class Diploma in Crafts (sheet-metal), Government of Tamil Nadu

Exhibitions

Has regularly participated in the National Art Exhibition, New Delhi, Lalit Kala Akademi, for many years
1991 : 7th South Indian Sculpture Exhibition (Art Heritage), New Delhi and Mumbai.
1977 : All India Art Exhibition, under the auspices of the All India Fine Arts & Crafts Society, New Delhi; UP State Lalit Kala Akademi, Lucknow
1977 & 1976 : All India Sculptors' Forum Exhibition, New Delhi (1976), Guntur (1976) and Chandigarh (1977)
1972 : 25 years of Indian Art, Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi.
1988 : All India Exhibitions of Fine Arts, Bangalore
1972 -73 & 87-88 : Traveling Exhibition, Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi
1987 : All India Exhibition of Fine Arts, Bhuvaneswar
1976 &1978 : Bombay Art Society
1989 : Regional Centre, Lalit Kala Akademi, Chennai (Annual Southern Regional Exhibition
1964-1989 : Tamil Nadu Ovia Nunkalai Kuzhu Annuals, Chennai 
1990 : Goa State Lalit Kala Akademi, Panaji
1991 : Minature Format Exhibition, New Delhi and Mumbai, organised by Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi 
1989 : 3rd Biennale, Havana, Cuba

Camps & More Exhibitions

1982 : Techno-Art Camp at Visweswarayya Museum, Bangalore
1984 : South Indian Artists' Camp, Tamil University, Thanjavur
1987 ; South Indian Artists' Camp, South Zone Cultural Centre Thanjavur; Miniature Bronze Sculpture, Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath, Bangalore
1989 : All India Sculptors' Camp, Bangalore; All India Sculptors' Camp, Bhuvaneswar
1991-1993 : The Madras Metaphor (works by seven South Indian Sculptors) under the auspices of British Council, Chennai (earlier held in New Delhi and Mumbai organised by Art Heritage) and in Calcutta
1994 : Terracotta Sculptures, Kumbakonam, organised by Tamil Nadu Ovia Nunkalai Kuzhu, Chennai
1996 : Madras: An Emotion (Contemporary South Indian Art) sponsored 
by Values of Art Foundation, Chennai
1997: Birla Academy of Art & Culture.

Awards

1963 : Madras Art Club
1976 : Mysore Industrial and Cultural Exhibition
1968,1978&1985 : Tamil Nadu Ovia Nunkalai Kuzhu (Chennai) Annual Shows.
1993 : National Award, Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi; Bombay Art Society Annual Exhibition; 
1995 : All India Art Context Exhibition, Nagpur
1989-1990 : Fellowship, Department of Culture, Ministry of Education, New Delhi
(Human Resource Development) 
1997 : Fellowship conferred by Tamil Nadu Ovia Nunkalai Kuzhu, Chennai.
1996 : Member, July, National Exhibition.
Has served as Chairman, Board of Studies in Arts and Crafts, Bharathidasan University, Tiruchriapalli.

Collections

National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi;
Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi;
Tamil Nadu Ovia Nunkalai Kuzhu, Chennai;
Modern Art Gallery, Chandigarh (Punjab);
Modern Art Gallery, Manipur;
Regional Art Centre, Lalit Kala Akademi (New Delhi);
Chennai Tamil University, Thanjavur;
South Zone Cultural Centre, Thanjavur;
All India Art Contest Collection, Nagpur, etc.