Sudarshan Shetty, Vases, 2016, Found Ceramic Vase and reused teak wood, 40.5 x 25.5 x 25.5 cm
Exploring the vessel as form and symbol — blurring boundaries between function and aesthetics, the tangible and the fleeting.
Vessels and Vases. Artists Exploring Boundaries is a unique group exhibition featuring works by the Korean artist Bahk Seon Ghi, the Indian artist Sudarshan Shetty, and the Scottish artist Andrew James Ward. The three artists have repeatedly attracted international attention with room-filling and oversized installations, including at Art Basel and in the main building of the UN in New York.
The exhibition presents works that explore both the form and function of vessels, whether as everyday objects, as symbols of our quotidian life, or as even more abstract metaphors. Serving for thousands of years as bearers and witnesses of human culture, vessels truly embody the timeless connection between aesthetics and functionality.
While Bahk Seon Ghi removes physical boundaries in his installations and uses charcoal to create a fascinating lightness that fills the room with floating forms, Andrew James Ward focuses on the symbolic power of the vase in his monumental paintings. Sudarshan Shetty, on the other hand, combines traditional and modern materials in his sculptures to create works that reflect the tension between transience and permanence, tradition and modernity. All three artists transcend the conventional boundaries of their medium and create works that oscillate between reality and illusion, between the tangible and the fleeting.
Bahk Seon Ghi is known for his expansive installations in which he uses charcoal and nylon threads to make everyday objects or simply geometric structures float in a fragile balance.
Sudarshan Shetty is famous for his multi-layered sculptures in which he combines cultural narratives with a modern aesthetic. His sculptures impress us with their formal elegance and profound symbolism.
Andrew James Ward uses his unmistakable technique – the direct application of oil with his hands – to focus on the vase as a powerful motif. Often larger than life and depicted in intense colours, for him they represent not just objects, but metaphysical vessels full of energy and mystery.
