A complex metal maze

Valsan Koorma Kolleri's metal sculptures seek space and track time.

When Valsan Koorma Kolleri talks about togetherness co-existing with an individual's fiercely guarded personal space, a glance at his metal sculptures makes his statement seem almost paradoxical.

As copper, bronze or iron wires and rods mesh in a complex maze, the entanglement in his sculptures would make personal space seem impossible.

Like claustrophobia enmeshing. But Kolleri justifies that each twisted form of metal entwining the other in his life-size sculptures has its niche space. His penchant for huge sculptures, he says somewhat possessively, aim "to find my own space".

When Kolleri was studying art at the Madras College of Art and Craft in the early 1970s, it saddened him that not many artists were keen to pursue the country's rich art form of sculpture.

He committed himself to sculptures then, as he was inclined to both the form and the cause. Also, "I realised that I had always liked working with my hands on my father's coconut and cashew groves, so working on sculpture suited me well," he says.

Unassuming objects like a ladder, a seating arrangement, a shed, a spinning top or a hook that could be a weaver bird's nest are the kind of sculptural forms Kolleri does.

His subjects reveal an inclination towards a new space or thought. Even when they're ready, Kolleri will unconsciously twist loosened and out-of-form wires.

For him, working with metals, especially bronze, is like re-experiencing the way earth was formed "" the molten metals cooling and solidifying to a take form... No wonder that his own sculpture series over the decades have seen him create titles like This Time Ceramics (1985), Bronze Age, Stone Age and Wartime Series (1988), Pilgrim Age (2000) and now Newclearage (2006) "" his own world's progression.

But bronze casting for Kolleri is full of amazing possibilities as "you deal with metallurgy, weight, time, quality", he says; then quips: "Plus, such material will last longer than I will."

Gallerist Mamta Singhania of Anant Art Gallery finds that Kolleri's sculptures speak of nature, introspection and spirituality.

"He's very individualistic," she comments. The other aspect Kolleri seeks for his sculptures is transparency in form where each act of making the sculpture is visible. Where, inspite of being solid and opaque metal, the form is transparent so one is able to look through it.

So what does Kolleri think of new-age installations? Not fully an art form for him, but it is a small part of his discipline. Somewhat like the shadows he seeks of his metal sculptures as an integral part of their whole look.

His style hasn't changed much since he started out, but a language and grammar has developed as he dived deeper into the study of his craft.

"The best artists are art lovers themselves," he says.