Ranjani Shettar

Shettar received her Bachelors of Fine Arts (Sculpture) in 1998 and her Masters of Fine Arts (Sculpture) in 2000, from the College of Fine Art Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath and the Institute of Advanced Studies Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath in Bangalore respectively.

Shettar currently lives and works in Karnataka, India.

Shettar’s first exhibition took place in 2004 at Talwar Gallery, New York.[5] Since then, her works been featured in museums worldwide and she continues to be exclusively represented by Talwar Gallery.[6]

Shettar's works have been the subject of various publications from National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne[7] and galleries like Talwar Gallery[8] and Marian Goodman Gallery.[9] Shettar has also been awarded with the Hebbar Foundation award in 1999 and 2003, as well as the Charles Wallace Trust Award in 2004, the Sanskriti award in 2008, and the Aditya Vikram Birla Kalakiran Puraskar in 2011 for her works.

In 2023, Shettar’s first major institutional show in Europe is commissioned by the Barbican Centre in London. Titled "Cloud songs on the horizon," the project will feature a series of expansive suspended sculptures spanning the Conservatory's vast space.[10]

In her work, Shettar combines natural and industrial materials, including beeswax, wood, organic dyes, vegetal pastes, lacquer, steel, and cloth, to create large-scale installations.[11] Shettar draws inspiration from India's rich heritage of craft traditions, incorporating many of their time-honored techniques into her creative process.[12]

Ranjani Shettar, Honeysuckle and Mercury in a Thick Midnight Plot (2016)

Shettar's wood sculptures are hand-carved.[13] In these sculptures, she deliberately preserves the natural texture of the material, such as cracks and knots.[14]

Ranjani Shettar, Touch Me Not (2006-2007), from the collection of Kiran Nadar Museum of Art

Shettar’s wooden artworks also take the form of wall-mounted compositions. One example is Touch Me Not (2006-2007), now a permanent part of Kiran Nadar Museum of Art's collection.[15]

Ranjani Shettar, Seven ponds and a few raindrops (2017), from the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Shettar has created an immersive installations, such as Seven Ponds and a Few Rain Drops (2017),[16] which entered the permanent collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2018. elegantly spirals from the ground towards the ceiling, Other examples include Sing Along (2008-2009), now in the collection of Kiran Nadar Museum of Art.[17]

Shettar has also created works connecting hand-molded wax beads with cotton thread.[18] In her work Just a bit more (2005-2006),[19] which is now in the permanent collection of MoMA New York, the artist really relied on the lightweight and translucent quality of the material to create an intricate web of threads.[20]

Ranjani Shettar, Me, no, not me, buy me, eat me, wear me, have me, me, no, not me, (2006-2007), from the collection of San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

In addition to organic mediums, Shettar also uses industrial materials. One such piece, Me, No, Not Me, Buy Me, Eat Me, Wear Me, Have Me, Me, No, Not Me (2006-2007)[21] was featured at the inaugural exhibition of San Francisco Museum of Modern Art’s sculptural garden.[22]

Shettar's projects are mostly sculptural, however she has experimented in other forms as well. One such project is Varsha, an artist's book in collaboration with The Museum of Modern Art (New York). In 2021, Shettar was invited to create a special print titled Alae alae to commemorate The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s 150th anniversary.[23]

1. Washington City Press, Ranjani Shettar's Earth Songs for a Night Sky, June 2019
2. The New York Times Style Magazine, The South Asian Artists Making Their Mark on the Western Scene, December 2018.
3. Artforum, Ranjani Shettar The Metropolitan Museum of Art, September 2018.
4. Mint, Ranjani Shettar: Making Waves with Wood, July 2017.
5. The New York Times, Ranjani Shettar: Night Skies and Daydreams, September 2014.