Born in 1956 in Suryapet, Andhra Pradesh, Ravinder Reddy lives in Hyderabad and completed his BFA in Sculpture and MFA in Creative Sculpture from the Faculty of Fine Arts, Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda. He was one of the first contemporary Indian artists to draw critical attention in the US. Reddy’s monumental female heads and nudes are among the most visible and recognisable examples of contemporary South Asian art around the world, in which he fuses pop and folk sensibilities with traditions of Hindu sculpture. His works suggest a multifaceted femininity that is both rooted in the past and embracing the contemporary world, dialogically straddling Eastern and Western connotations to dismantle Victorian ideals while embracing ancient temple depictions of the female form.
Ravinder Reddy’s artwork is part of the contemporary section at the Bihar Museum. While the Bihar Museum is a historical museum, the museum also has sections of contemporary art, folk art, etc. The museum’s ethos is to connect the past with the future and in the historical section, a large part of the artefacts are of women and deities. The museum’s emphasis on women’s past and present and future makes it stand out in terms of what the museum selects and displays as museums remain political places and sites of conversation.
