Artists
Ranjani Shettar

Ranjani Shettar

Born

1977, Bangalore, Karnataka

Based in

Near Sagara, Karnataka

Practice & Materials

Installations of gravity-defying forms rooted in nature

Key Themes

Nature, transformation, centuries-old craft traditions

Ranjani Shettar’s practice takes its rhythm from nature, while many of its methods are drawn from India’s centuries-old craft traditions. Her work mediates thresholds between craft and art, tradition and modernity, the physical and the spiritual, while transforming the simple and mundane into the magical. Her studio practice is shaped by sustained engagement with her environment.

Featured work

Photo Courtesy © Andrea Avezzù

Photo Courtesy © Andrea Avezzù

Photo Courtesy © Andrea Avezzù

Photo Courtesy © Andrea Avezzù

Under the same sky, 2026

Handwoven cotton fabric, steel, and lacquer

This suspended sculptural garden unfolds as a lyrical composition of form, material, and movement, where hand-crafted elements hover in delicate equilibrium. Drawing on artisan traditions and her close observation of the natural world, the artist creates an immersive space that invites the viewer into an ethereal choreography. Inspired by organic forms across diverse landscapes, her work evokes a fragile yet resilient ecology - diverse, yet in harmony. In this installation, home becomes a sensory and contemplative condition: a place of balance achieved through thoughtful composition.

Note from
Ranjani Shettar

“I would describe it as a culmination of decades of practice. I am driven by forms, space, and colors—the tension between shapes, surface, texture, and line. Having used this material for nearly two decades, I am applying everything I know about it to this work. I view my sculptures as pure forms; I explore how I can shape material to achieve my composition. This artwork consists of multiple elements that come together like a choreography. Together, they form a visual experience characterized by harmony, rhythm, melody, cadence, and crescendo.

While some music is written for a solo performer, others are composed for an orchestra; for me, this piece is an orchestra. I am creating musical phrases in my studio which I will later assemble on-site into a final composition.

Suspension allows me to play visually with gravity. It enables a sense of weightlessness of ascent, floating, and hovering as though this is the only way these forms can truly exist.”