The sinful nature of the world today and everyday vagaries of complex city life deeply affect Valay Shende.

The emerging artist is very much a contrast to his life-size sculptural installations. The Nagpur-born and Mumbai based artist is quite shy, whereas his creations are forceful. Sensitively thought-out, superbly crafted and intensely articulate, they bring out the essence of his vision of what is right or wrong.

Valay Shende did his B.F.A. in Sculpture in 2004 from Sir J J School of Art. He participated in an artist residency program at Point Ephemere, Paris. He has exhibited his work at St Tropez Beach in France, ‘Bombay Maximum City’ at Lille 3000, and in Havana Biennale, among others.

Being a keen and sensitive observer of his immediate surroundings, Valay shende is also concerned about the common people’s trial and tribulations of their day-to-day life. He feels owes a responsibility to the society an artist and firmly believes that an ideal world can well be re-created. He wants his audience to reflect upon the social issues that plague man today.

The artist primarily creates sculptural installations and video works. His observations and feelings invariably set off the production of his creative work and determine the choice of media. They demonstrate his ability of transforming a thought into a work of art with his technical deftness. His sizzling sculptures stand out simply by their weight in physical as well as metaphoric sense. Through his skillfully rendered objects, symbols and profiles he puts across his concerns about today’s religion-ridden society.

The 26-year old sculptor admits that the sinful nature of the world today and everyday vagaries of complex city life affect him deeply. They reflect in his work. He feels that Buddha’s middle path is the solution to our troubled times.