Memorabilia - A Roski Art Exhibit
By: Camila Grases ‘21
This past Thursday, November 1st, was the opening reception to the small yet wonderful exhibition of Roski senior Ankita Mukherji. As an artist that specializes in clay sculptures, Ankita is able to transform her medium into art that is deeply meaningful to herself. Part of her statement at the reception spoke about the ways in which she used her memory and her feelings to create “the objects and spaces that we call home.”
From the moment you walk into her exhibit, you are immediately impacted by her work. Suddenly, her intentions are clear.
She was attempting to recreate the feeling of nostalgia that we attribute to such objects and the subsequent spaces they inform and inhabit. It is no wonder many spoke of feeling “inspired” by her work, as she was so successful in eliciting these emotions that relate to home.
One woman even spoke about the ways Ankita’s art reminded her of a clay recreation of a Vincent Van Gogh painting. It is immediately clear why she felt this way, yet, every sculpture Ankita produced was unique and full of personality in its own right.
To me, it is that personality that made me understand deeply what the exhibition was about. In your own home, the furniture that you own stops being simply furniture after a while. It has its own style, its own personality, and most importantly, its own memory. You stop seeing it as simply a piece of furniture. This understanding of spaces and how they effect us throughout daily life, even though we may not think about it constantly, is at the core of this exhibit.
The curves and quirks that Ankita allows in her art are not only stylistically unique, they are fun and meaningful; but you cannot really embrace all the small details, like the shininess of the faucet to make it look metallic or the small details in the windows, unless you go see it in person. Her exhibit will be open in the Roski building, (Watt Hall 104) until Thursday, November 8th. I hope you can all enjoy it as much as I have. After all, that is what art is meant to do.
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