Sojwal Samant
Untitled
2015
Hahnemuhle photograph
19 × 24 in
Sojwal Samant was born in Baroda in 1972, and completed her Bachelor’s degree in Applied Arts at the Faculty of Fine Arts at M.S. University there in 1994. Samant went on to obtain a Diploma and a Post-Diploma in sculpture in 1998 and 2000. In addition, the artist completed a three month exchange program at the Ecole des Beaux Arts, Paris, in 1999-2000. Initially, the artist focused on producing witty sculptures made by combining several different media. Her more recent works, however, are usually made of one medium and are subtler in their message. The artist attributes these changes in her practice to her maternity and the birth of her first child, which changed her life. Samant’s sculptures are inspired by everyday life, small details and concerns which the artist wants to share with her audience, from whom she expects acknowledgement for her obsession with these things. Moreover, the artist seems to re-do through the medium of sculpture what she is undoing at home in terms of domestic work. Samant’s first solo exhibition was held at Sakshi Gallery, Mumbai, in 2002. Since then, she has participated in several international groups shows such as ‘Whose Touch This is, I Think I Know’ at Gallery Threshold, New Delhi, in 2008-2009; ‘Everything’ for the Willem Baars Arts Project, Amsterdam, in 2008; ‘Drawn from Life: Drawing Space’ at Green Cardamom, London, in 2008; ‘2 Person Show’ at Gallery Espace, New Delhi, in 2008; ‘Span’ at Sakshi Gallery, Mumbai, in 2005; ‘Highlights’ at Sakshi Gallery, Mumbai, in 2003; ‘Voices Against Violence’ at the Faculty of Fine Arts, Baroda, in 2002; and ‘Creative Space’ organized by Sakshi Gallery at the India Habitat Centre, New Delhi, in 2002. In addition, Samant conducted a workshop organized by Gallery Threshold in Jaipur in 2006; and another organized by Lemon Grasshopper in Bali in 2007. The artist lives and works in Baroda.
Courtesy of artsy.net, saffronart.com