Hyderabad artists to highlight gender sensitivity and tolerance at India Art Fair 2022

Vinod Daroz and Varunika Saraf explore themes of oneness and portents for India Art Fair 2022

The India Art Fair 2022 opens on April 28 as an on-ground event in New Delhi, after a pandemic-induced break, with the participation of artists and galleries from 13 States across India. Among them will be Hyderabad artists Vinod Daroz and Varunika Saraf, showcasing their work on the themes of oneness and portents respectively. 

Vinod’s ceramic art is a blend of Indian and oriental styles. Drawing inspiration from South Indian temple art and architecture, he explores gender sensitivity. Represented by Hyderabad-based Kalakriti Art Gallery, Vinod’s ceramic sculptures use forms such as mortar and pestle, egg, pupa, butterfly, shells, seeds, the linga and the yoni as a sacred representation of the male and female energies. The idea of oneness is asserted through the thematic convergence of Shiva and Shakti in his sculptures.

The artist grew up in a family of goldsmiths in Kalwakurthy near Hyderabad and uses gold to offset the deep tones of blues, greens, pinks and yellows in his ceramic sculptures. In a recent interview with The Hindu for his series Aikyam:Oneness, he stated, “I use 24 karat gold in ceramic art, fully aware of the risk that it may not turn out the way I want it to during firing,” and added that neither he nor his wife use gold for its ornamental value.

He established his ceramic studio in Vadodara and has showcased his work in galleries in China, Thailand and Macau, among other countries.

At the India Art Fair, on display will be Vinod’s standalone sculptures as well as installations comprising smaller works. 

Varunika, represented by Mumbai-based Chemould Prescott Road gallery, is showcasing a large painting and another set of 21 small paintings pertaining to the theme of Portents. Her paintings are a reaction to social and political happenings. Her art is indicative of how we, as a society, have not paid attention to signs of unrest and that, in turn, has led to an increase in caste and gender violence and religious intolerance. “We have ignored warning signs for years,” she says.

In a watercolour on wasli painting, backed with cotton textile, Varunika engages with the idea of portents, inspired by the Augsburg Book of Miracules, a 16th-century book with illustrations of miraculous signs observed from historical events. She uses multiple, small images of violence inflicted on people, all drawn from current affairs.