Untitled

From his studio in Visakhapatnam facing the Bay of Bengal, Ravinder Reddy creates bodacious busts of South Indian women. Reflecting his love, fear and fascination for the female form his women are gorgeous and sensual but also iconic. Employing the postmodern devices of appropriation, irony and humour, Reddy references ancient Indian sculptural traditions. He contemporizes images of traditional Indian goddesses, but he also uses local models to represent the traditionalism of everyday South Indian women. This combination of tradition and the new extends to his working methods -- Reddy builds models in clay before he casts them in fiberglass and polyester-resin. In spite of their imposing size and saturated colours, the artist cleverly imbues his sculptures with a sense of serenity and the brash faces remain docile and domestic.

Reddy was one of the first contemporary Indian artists to draw critical attention in the U.S. following his first solo exhibition in New York with Deitch Projects, 2001. Most recently his works were shown at the Arken Museum of Modern Art, Copenhagen (2012) and the Smart Museum of Art, Chicago (2011).