Dimpy Menon

You recently won the ‘Lorenzo il Magnifico’ Bronze, and have earlier won the Lalit Kala state award.

To be selected by a jury of stalwarts for the Lorenzo Award was a great honour. For the Lalit Kala awards, to be adjudged by artists like J. Swaminathan vindicated my belief in what I was doing.

You have a lot of human form in your sculptures.

The human body is the literal and metaphorical vehicle for my expression.

Why only bronze?

The metal has an int­rinsic richness and res­ilience which I like.

Your inspiration?

Life, in all its splendour.

Your tribute to Matisse is very famous.

Matisse’s The Conversation is a confrontation between the male and the female; my bronze, On the Same Page, depicts a harmony.

They say artists cannot pick favourites, do you have one?

Heaven and Earth, at Holiday Inn, Bangalore. A figure from the ceiling connects with another one on the floor and there is a fluid ribbon forming an arch under which people walk.

Has the Indian art market changed over the years?

The Indian art lover has grown more refined. Art is no longer the exclusive preserve of a few.

Tell us about your unique connect with sculpture.

A sculpture requires me to pour in more energy into it. I still paint, draw and etch; a lot of my bronzes have drawings and etchings on them.

You have worked for hotels. How does that differ from something you make for yourself?

All work I do is my own,  commissioned or otherwise.

Do you have any other hobbies?

I love to cook, garden and keep home. Travel, literature, cinema and the theatre are a huge part of my life.