Indian sculptor Mrinalini Mukherjee, who was born in Mumbai in 1949, has died at the age of 65, a few days after the opening of her solo show at the National Gallery of Modern Art in New Dehli. Drawing inspiration from the forms and forces of nature, Mukherjee was known for her innovative sculptural investigations, notably involving the use of dyed hemp ropes which she knotted and weaved into ambiguous forms (Basanti, 1993, evokes both a flower and a vagina). In the last decade of her life, the artist pursued her experimentation with bronze, her forms becoming both larger and more complex.
Daughter of artists Benode Behari and Leela Mukherjee, Mrinalini studied art at MS University and mural design under K.G. Subramanyan. As well as numerous shows with her gallery Nature Morte in New Delh, Mukherjee was one of the first Indian artists to be exhibited at the Sydney Biennale, in 1986, and had a show at Modern Art Oxford in 1993.
3 February 2015
