A Conversation With Rajesh Ram

Pranamita Borgohain

There’s something enticing as well as peculiar about seeing the hybrid veggie-human forms in artist Rajesh Ram’s art works. They’re tactile, provoking and metaphorically relate food, life and reality. Rajesh’s sculptures are close to reality, yet with exaggerated forms; his works promise the unattainable in life. Their sensual nature stirs your senses and implores you to indulge in it.

Born in 1978, in Jharkhand, Rajesh Ram studied at the Patna Art College and later at the College of Art, New Delhi. He has completed an Art Appreciation Course from the National Museum in New Delhi and has been practicing art in Delhi for almost a decade now.

Pranamita Borgohain (PB): How and when did you decide to pursue your career as an artist? What were your experiences / approach in both the colleges at Patna and Delhi? Rajesh Ram (RR): Durga puja is a well celebrated festival in my home town. During my childhood, when the traditional artists used to make the Durga idol, I used to try some of these forms and experiment with them with great interest. I was very keen on making realistic figures. A visitor who was a photographer suggested that I should join an art institute. Subsequently, I met Mr. Shyam Viswakarma, a student from Patna Art College who helped me to prepare, and I finally got admission in the art college. Patna College of Art was the starting point from where I have moved from the traditional guise to an academic art practice. During my bachelors, I have brushed my skills, whereas the Masters program in Delhi gave me an opportunity to enhance my thought process.