ŠUma Singh, 2013
Born in 1942 Uma Singh is a Glass Artist based out of Kolkata, India. She has been working in the medium of glass since 1982. Primarily self taught she pioneered the revival of the art of stained glass after it died a natural death in post colonial India. Having worked in this medium for over twenty years she has more recently been engaged in creating one of a kind sculptural forms in glass, often combined with other materials like metal, stone, wood and fibre-glass. Working with both kiln formed and cold carving techniques, she gives shape to her ideas, optimizing the optical properties and ethereal qualities of glass. Dissatisfied working primarily on two-dimensional, site specific installations Singh transitioned to explore three dimensional form, experimenting with different glass working processes. This took her to Pilchuck Glass School, WA, USA, where she studied various techniques intermittently between 2000 and 2004. In 2004 she received a scholarship to study Kiln Casting at the Corning Museum of Glass, NY, USA. In her work, Singh seeks to investigate the illusory optics and refractive qualities of light, through sculptural forms that draw energy from ancient
Indian temple art and folk traditions. While attempting to retain their classical expression, she contemporizes these references, layering it with a personal narrative that evokes an underlying spirituality. Singh has held several exhibitions of her stained glass works between 1988 and 1996 at Conclave, Kolkata; Cymroza and Cache, Mumbai; The Oberoi, Delhi. Her installations are in distinguished homes; luxury hotels (The Taj Kolkata, The Park Kolkata and Delhi, The Oberoi Maidens Delhi); restaurants and retail spaces across India. Singh’s work has been featured in several publications such as Inside Outside, India Today, Business Today, Society, Outlook, Telegraph and a number of dailies. In recognition of her efforts to revive the art of stained glass in India, Singh was selected as one of the ‘50 women in enterprise in India’ in the book titled ‘A Business of Her Own’ produced by FICCI Ladies’ Organization to celebrate 50 years of India’s independence. Singh has exhibited at the India Art Fair 2012 & 2013. ‘The Gods in Glass,’ her first solo show is a culmination of a decade long journey sculpting with the magical medium of glass.
FOREWORD Uma Singh has been closely involved with the mainstream culture of Kolkata, deeply influenced by its creative ethos and rich artistic heritage. I met Uma in the early 80’s when she began to seriously explore her passion for glass. I believe Kolkata encourages one’s artistic temperament to flourish and Uma worked against the odds to follow her childhood curiosity for this medium. I would not be wrong to say that she might then have been among the few people in India to use glass as a medium of artistic expression. Uma started her artistic journey with stained glass using glass collected from old mansions, demolition sites, left overs with old stockists and also staining and firing her own glass. Her distinctive creations were sought by interior designers and her glass installations are to be found in many cities of India.
Not long after, like most artists do, Uma became restless with just stained glass. Eager to learn more, Uma attended workshops in the US and set up a studio in her residence. Her innovative nature pushed her to explore different glass working techniques, rediscover the inherent properties of this exciting medium and express herself through sculptural forms. This is when she saw the creative opportunity to translate her fascination with temple sculpture into glass. Sculpting icons in glass has since consumed Uma’s artistic life. She relentlessly experiments with different types of glass often combining her compositions with other mediums like metal and stone. While her works reflect the physical rhythm and fluidity of classical Indian sculpture, she uses a more contemporary language – each piece lyrically arching with an elusive and translucent dimension. Uma Singh’s exhibition highlights new aspects of the tradition of Indian sculpture.
Shuvaprasanna January, 2013
SHIVA 1 94 x 41 x 31 cm
T
he Gods in Glass merges two of my abiding interests: the gods as form and glass as a medium. The first presented itself as far back as 1955 when, as a girl, I encountered India’s amazing sculpture tradition in Konark and the temples of Bhubaneswar. The second grew on me as I grew up in Calcutta, gazing at beautiful stained glass, in my school church and in many stately mansions. My fascination with coloured glass had actually started with a toy — a kaleidoscope — and turned into a serious pursuit after my exposure to exquisite stained glass in Europe during my travels abroad when I resolved to make it myself. And I did, from 1982, holding several exhibitions of it after having battled lots of trials and errors. But a yearning for something more stirred in me: the desire to work with three-dimensional form without abandoning my romance with glass. That would mean trying out something rather new, something that hadn’t been experimented with in quite the way I envisaged the complex technique this art would demand. But I was committed to the challenge. And thus did my two deep passions come together in this show, the gods and glass. Both magical in their spell. The forms that I wished to reinvent in glass captivated me. The rhythm of the lines in Nataraj, the dynamic grace of Durga, the simplified geometry of the Ganesha image had to be expressed in a style that followed the naturalistic contours of the original sculpture while paring down details for expressive economy. Simultaneously, exploiting the transparency of the material to induce the play of light and its refraction through broken pieces was also on my mind. Hence, I wished to have both smooth surfaces and ruggedly textured ones. While a few abstract works have flow and finish, building up the images with glass layers creates a rippling tactility that invites light but cuts it up subtly as well. But the show isn’t only about traditional imagery reinvented through new material and a new technique. Nor is it about the immense commitment in terms of time and resources I invested in it. Nor about the ironic symbolism of transferring the gods from durable stone to brittle glass in an age of flawed and fallible icons. This is mainly about illuminating an allegiance — both emotional and intellectual — that I feel towards my roots, towards my creative identity. An identity scripted by a curious amalgam of heritage, technology and individual vision. Uma Singh August, 2013
KRISHNA 3 42 x 30 x 25 cm
BUDDHA 2 58 x 28 x 28 cm
SARASWATI 46 x 34 x 28 cm
KRISHNA 2 41 x 31 x 31 cm
DURGA 2 83 x 39 x 27 cm
NATRAJ 2 148 x 70 x 51 cm
VISHNU 1 152 x 36 x 36 cm
TRISHUL 4 130 x 70 x 36 cm
BUDDHA 1 145 x 28 x 28 cm
PARVATI 1 95 x 24 x 24 cm
PARVATI 2 112 x 38 x 25 cm
PARVATI 3 100 x 36 x 36 cm
VISHNU 2 47 x 14 x 14 cm
LAKSHMI 43 x 15 x 15 cm
GANESH 5 97 x 60 x 25 cm
GANESH 6 41 x 34 x 26 cm
GANESH 4 36 x 37 x 37 cm
TRISHUL 1 43 x 21 x 13 cm
DURGA 1 44 x 36 x 26 cm
TRISHUL 2 41 x 38 x 25 cm
TRISHUL 3 46 x 30 x 21 cm
VENKATESHWARA 67 x 47 x 32 cm
KRISHNA 1 33 x 23 x 23 cm
AMBER KRISHNA 68 x 42 x 32 cm
BUDDHA 5 148 x 58 x 51 cm
TRIMURTI 52 x 32 x 22 cm
NATRAJ 1 48 x 34 x 22 cm
BUDDHA 3 41 x 22 x 22 cm
WITHIN 46 x 21 x 21 cm
BUDDHA 6 95 x 18 x 18 cm
BUDDHA 4 54 x 41 x 23 cm
MOTHER 38 x 36 x 31 cm
GANESH 3 41 x 23 x 25 cm
GANESH 2 45 x 35 x 20 cm
GANESH 7 53 x 40 x 32 cm
KALI 1 71 x 36 x 17 cm
KALI 2 47 x 40 x 28 cm
THE MAKING OF KALI
umasingh123@bsnl.in www.umasingh.com
Design: tsk design, www.tsk-design.com Paper: Emote Bright White 128 gsm (Book) Papers by Kyoorius Print: Pragati Offset Pvt. Ltd.