Artists to explore how material holds memory at Art Mumbai's Sculpture Park
The fourth edition of Art Mumbai turns the Mahalaxmi Racecourse into a vibrant Sculpture Park, centering the theme Material and Memory. Over four days in November, the fair invites visitors to consider how the very substances of sculpture—clay, stone, wood, metal, fabric and found objects—carry histories, rituals and personal narratives.
Curated by Veeranganakumari Solanki, the park gathers a diverse group of contemporary makers whose practice is rooted in the stories embedded in their chosen media. From tribal teak carvings to industrial bronze, each work acts as a conduit for memory, linking past traditions with present concerns.
Highlights include Stories Retold by Pandi Ram Mandavi, a series of teak panels that translate folklore and tribal deities into tactile reliefs, and Nagji Patel’s Temple, which balances sandstone and brass to echo the quiet sanctity of historic Indian shrines. Teja Gavankar’s kinetic Neti‑Neti 2 invites interaction with terracotta bricks and a motor, probing philosophical notions of 'not this, not that.' Contemporary critiques surface in Jonathan Trayte’s Babba Su, painted bronze and stainless steel that mimic the glossy excess of food packaging, while Madhu Das’s The Sound of Waves from the Deep Ocean uses marine rope to evoke oceanic depths and the looming threat of deep‑sea mining.
The roster also features artists such as Divya Mehra, Satish Gujral, Vyom Mehta, Aditi Joshi, Sakshi Gupta, Sajid Wajid Sheikh, Pors and Rao, and Sumakshi Singh, each bringing distinct material vocabularies to the dialogue. Together, the installations encourage a fresh look at sculpture—not just as object, but as a living archive of culture, ecology and consumer habit.