BackValay Shende is one of the most recognizable figures of his generation. His works are often life-sized sculptures, meticulously crafted using hundreds of shiny metal discs welded together to create iconic forms. These sculptures poignantly reflect the concerns of the common man and his fragmented lived experience within a hyper-capitalist society.
Shende frequently employs quotidian symbols ubiquitous in his surroundings, such as cattle, dabbawallas, scooters, hanging clothes, and irons, weaving narratives around their significance and context. He transforms these everyday items into powerful metaphors that comment on globalization, migration, and economic imbalances. It is his ability to re-conceptualize even the most mundane symbols that establishes him as a potent artistic commentator on contemporary India.
Born in Nagpur in 1980, Shende completed his B.F.A. in Sculpture from Mumbai's Sir J.J. School of Art in 2004. His works are part of numerous private collections in India and abroad, and have been included in prestigious exhibitions such as City Dwellers: Contemporary Art from India at the Seattle Art Museum; Indian Highway at MAXXI Rome and MAC Lyon; Concurrent India at the Helsinki Art Museum; and Finding India: Art for the New Century at the Museum for Contemporary Art, Taipei. Shende has participated in the Glenfiddich Artist-in-Residence program in Glasgow and the Open Air Residency Program in Paris, and his work was featured in Kuandu Biennale 2014 - Recognition System. His solo exhibition, Migrating Histories of Molecular Identities, was held at Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Mumbai City Museum in 2015. Shende’s socially conscious practice has garnered much acclaim, and his 13-foot-tall Dabbawala sculpture is a permanent installation at Mumbai’s iconic Haji Ali.
Shende lives and works in Mumbai.
Shende frequently employs quotidian symbols ubiquitous in his surroundings, such as cattle, dabbawallas, scooters, hanging clothes, and irons, weaving narratives around their significance and context. He transforms these everyday items into powerful metaphors that comment on globalization, migration, and economic imbalances. It is his ability to re-conceptualize even the most mundane symbols that establishes him as a potent artistic commentator on contemporary India.
Born in Nagpur in 1980, Shende completed his B.F.A. in Sculpture from Mumbai's Sir J.J. School of Art in 2004. His works are part of numerous private collections in India and abroad, and have been included in prestigious exhibitions such as City Dwellers: Contemporary Art from India at the Seattle Art Museum; Indian Highway at MAXXI Rome and MAC Lyon; Concurrent India at the Helsinki Art Museum; and Finding India: Art for the New Century at the Museum for Contemporary Art, Taipei. Shende has participated in the Glenfiddich Artist-in-Residence program in Glasgow and the Open Air Residency Program in Paris, and his work was featured in Kuandu Biennale 2014 - Recognition System. His solo exhibition, Migrating Histories of Molecular Identities, was held at Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Mumbai City Museum in 2015. Shende’s socially conscious practice has garnered much acclaim, and his 13-foot-tall Dabbawala sculpture is a permanent installation at Mumbai’s iconic Haji Ali.
Shende lives and works in Mumbai.
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