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Profile :
A self taught sculptor, Gagan Vij's engagement with sculpting started
early. He casted his first bronze at the age of 13. While still a
student, his college commissioned him to do a life size sculpture, which
is installed in the college library.
After pursuing his studies, he worked in other fields in order to
sustain his artistic pursuit, a difficult and rigorous proposition owing
to the nature of the work and the high costs involved in the making of
bronze sculptures. However, this experience added to his artistic
acumen, like his stint in the garment industry as a fashion designer
enriched his understanding of the human body.
In 2003, he gave up all other commitments and became a full time
sculptor. Irrespective of the difficulties attendant therein, Gagan
chose to only work in bronze, reflecting his classical bent of mind as a
sculptor. His vision of sculpture is much grounded in classical ideals
of Indian sculpture and he is totally unfazed by contemporary trends in
Indian sculpture and dedicated to furthering and honing his classical
vocabulary of sculpture.
Gagan has grown and evolved, learning by himself and has developed his
own methods to create art. He captures figures in moments of
contemplation, working on textures, curves and balance, and creating
delight with angular flowing movements that allow different views as one
takes a full circle to view his work. His works are conceptual and theme
oriented and he creates equilibrium between the material, method and
subject by making them immensely inter-dependent. He has to his credit
the task of having developed / invented a library of exclusive patina
shades, which add another dimension to his works.
Gagan lives in a suburb of New Delhi and has a sprawling new studio
equipped with everything required to create a work - right from clay
modeling, casting, and welding to the finishing stage, all under one
roof.
An artist of great promise, he is making his presence felt in the
contemporary Indian art scene. He has shown his works at several
exhibitions, and has also undertaken commissions for a number of private
collectors, institutions and site-specific public projects. He has
created bronzes ranging from a miniature size of ½ inch to a larger than
life size of up to 20 feet. He has received public acclaim for his
public art works, like the bust of renowned Urdu poet Mirza Ghalib, and
Lala Lajpat Rai commissioned by Delhi Development Authority, Govt. of
Delhi.
Gagan Vij was commissioned to create
a custom piece '56 Fish' for Blue Ginger at Taj Palace New Delhi 2008. Installation
July 2009 |
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Education :
Self-taught as a sculptor
M.B.A; Birla Institute, New Delhi; 1998-4
Diploma in Fashion Designing; New Delhi; 1991
B. Com; Kirori Mal College, University of Delhi; 1989-91
Select Group Exhibitions (Recent) :
Solo show 'ardnareshwar", ashish nagpal gallery , Mumbai nov 2008.
Art camp to swizerland - summer 2008.
Holi 2008; Red Earth / Rafael's, New Delhi; 2008
Sahaj Sankalp; Epicentre, Gurgaon; 2008
Artscape; Epicentre, Gurgaon; 2008
Vistaar (featuring collaborative work with fashion designer Manish Arora);
Limited Editions / Art and Soul Gallery, Mumbai; 2007
Festival of Lights; Red Earth / Alliance Francaise de Delhi, New Delhi;
2007
Art for a Sunnier Tomorrow; Savera / Hotel Intercontinental Grand, New
Delhi; 2007
Group Show; Ati Art Gallery / Alliance Francaise de Delhi, New Delhi;
2007
Vistaar (featuring collaborative work with fashion designer Manish Arora);
Limited Editions / The Stainless Gallery, New Delhi; 2007
Round and Round; Polka Art Gallery / Visual Arts Gallery, India Habitat
Centre, New Delhi; 2007
Buddha Enlightened World Peace (site-specific art camp with 35 artist
from 8 different countries); Bodh Gaya, Bihar; 2006
Group Show; Ati Art Gallery / Visual Arts Gallery, India Habitat Centre,
New Delhi; 2005
Site Specific Works :
To create statue of Netaji Subhash Candra Bose for THE GOVT. OF India.
Bust of lala lajpat rai - Delhi government
Sculpture of Maharaja Suraj mal - 13 feet for Central govt.
Bust of Ghalib - Ghalib Academy, I.T.O, Commissioned by Delhi
Development Authority, New Delhi
Buddha Head - Bodh Gaya, Commissioned by Department of Art and Culture,
Govt. of Bihar
Tivoli Gardens, New Delhi
Hotel Crown Plaza, Gurgaon, Haryana
Amatrra Spa, Hotel Ashok, New Delhi
Flex Industries, Noida, Uttar Pradesh
Site specific projects commissioned by Art e Form, New Delhi
Site specific projects commissioned by Furniture Library, New Delhi Site specific projects commissioned by
Taj Palace Hotel, New Delhi [Blue Ginger] |
