The Sculpture Park at ART MUMBAI returns with the theme 'Material and Memory,' showcasing 13 works that explore the interplay between materials, history, and embedded memories. Curated by Veeranganakumari Solanki, the park invites visitors to slow down, engage with sculptures in outdoor spaces, and discover connections between art and its surroundings.
Sculpture has an interesting relationship with time. Unlike a painting confined to a canvas, it occupies a physical space, responds to its surroundings and, depending on the material, carries traces of the years it has lived through. At an art fair, where the natural instinct is to move from one gallery to the next, a sculpture park offers a different way of looking. It asks visitors to step outside, slow their pace and consider the work in relation to the space around it.
For the fourth edition of ART MUMBAI, the Sculpture Park returns with Material and Memory as its guiding theme. Curated by Veeranganakumari Solanki, the presentation brings together 13 works that explore the relationship between material, history and the memories embedded within objects. Solanki's association with the park goes back to its very first edition in 2023, when Minal Vazirani, co-founder of ART MUMBAI, approached her with the idea of bringing sculpture into the outdoor spaces of the Mahalaxmi Racecourse.
The invitation held a personal connection for Solanki, who had once ridden at the racecourse herself. What began as a conversation has since evolved into a dedicated curatorial project, growing with each edition. A 2019 Brooks International Research Fellow at Tate Modern and former resident at the Delfina Foundation, she approaches the exhibition space as an opportunity to create conversations between artistic practices and their surroundings.
Having been associated with the Sculpture Park since ART MUMBAI's inaugural edition in 2023, Solanki has witnessed its evolution from an open call for sculptural works into a more considered curatorial experience. This year, two new site-responsive commissions, by Sumakshi Singh and Aaditi Joshi, add another dimension to the presentation. We speak to Solanki about the thinking behind Material and Memory, the possibilities and practicalities of exhibiting sculpture outdoors, and why she believes visitors should be allowed to find their own way through the park.
This year’s theme is Material and Memory. How and why did you choose this?
Over the years, the Sculpture Park at ART MUMBAI has evolved from an open call for sculptural works into a space where we can think more deliberately about how sculpture is presented and experienced. As the park has gained recognition as a semi-public space within the fair, it felt like the right time to develop a more thematic approach.
Material and Memory brings together two ideas central to sculpture. Historically, sculpture has been closely tied to material, from clay and terracotta to stone, metal, wood and other forms. Materials were first shaped by function and, over time, explored for their formal and expressive possibilities.
Memory, meanwhile, is embedded in materials and the associations they carry. A work can outlast the moment in which it was made, even as it changes and weathers over time. Whether an artist works with thread, wire or terracotta, the material carries its own histories and possibilities. This year’s participating artists explore these connections in different ways, and I hope visitors will discover them through their encounters with the works.
Was there anything you wanted to include in the Sculpture Park but had to leave out?
There are always practical considerations when working with sculpture in an outdoor setting, from the weight and scale of a work to the logistics of transporting and installing it. These are challenges that come with working in public spaces more broadly. The task is to work within those constraints without losing sight of the artistic intent.
Which works are you particularly excited about in this year’s Sculpture Park, and why?
With 13 works in the park, I would hesitate to single out a few. But I’m particularly interested in two new works being created specifically for this edition.
Sumakshi Singh, presented by Exhibit 320, is creating a 14-foot sculpture, specifically responding to the space on the bridge. It extends her engagement with the history and fragility of memory through thread, building on work she made for the Venice Biennale.
Aaditi Joshi is also developing a new work for the smaller sculpture garden. What excites me about both these pieces is that they are being conceived in response to the spaces they will occupy. That opens up different possibilities for how sculpture can relate to its surroundings.
Is there a fixed route through the Sculpture Park– a deliberate beginning and end to the experience?
Not really. ART MUMBAI has two entrances, and visitors will encounter the Sculpture Park from different directions. I don’t think there needs to be a prescribed beginning or end.
The park also exists within the larger environment of an art fair, where visitors are moving between galleries, exhibitions and other programmes. The installation has to respond to the site and its practical constraints, while bringing the works together through the overarching theme.
As a curator, I’m interested in allowing visitors to encounter the sculptures in different sequences. Someone might spend time with three works, while another visitor may come across just one. Each work should be able to hold its own, without requiring the viewer to have seen everything else first, while still contributing to the larger narrative. That balance is important when curating sculpture in an environment as active as an art fair.
What would you like visitors to experience as they walk through the Sculpture Park? What would you like them to take away?
I hope visitors will pause and spend time with the works: looking closely at the material, considering why an artist might have chosen it, and engaging with the ideas or histories behind the sculpture.
I’m also interested in how we connect with memories that are not originally our own. We encounter another person’s story through an artwork and, in some way, make it part of our own experience. Our memories accumulate associations, and a work can stay with us because of what it brings to mind or what we discover in it.
I hope that curiosity about the material and the artist’s intentions will lead visitors to make their own connections with the sculptures. If they leave with a memory of a work that continues to evolve through those associations, then the encounter has extended beyond the fair itself.