Unidentified II

Chandrashekar Koteshwar’s upcoming solo exhibition presents a compelling body of sculptures and artist-made objects that engage with critical questions surrounding the museum as an institution. Trained as both a sculptor and museologist, Koteshwar examines issues of restoration, conservation, collection, replicas, and display through the lens of art history and museology. His works challenge traditional museum narratives while foregrounding the fragility and political charge of artifacts.

Primarily working with terracotta, a material known for its vulnerability and archaeological significance, Koteshwar explores the material, economic, and ontological aspects of objects. His self-reflexive critique questions the exclusions within art history and museology, particularly regarding what qualifies for preservation and display.

The distorted and fragmented human figures in his sculptures are deliberate artistic strategies. Engaging with ideas of trauma, replication, and identity, these figures echo philosopher Catherine Malabou’s concept of the “new wounded” where bodies are marked by physical and emotional rupture, yet resilient and psychologically adaptive. This focus on fragility and plasticity underscores the mutable nature of form, memory, and meaning.

By creating small-scale sculptures that resemble museum replicas, Koteshwar highlights the paradox of the original and the copy. He questions their cultural value and placement within institutional hierarchies, drawing from historian Hillel Schwartz’s provocative query: “Can man live from the original alone?” These works humorously blur boundaries between original and replica, inviting deeper reflection on authenticity.

Through meticulous craftsmanship and rigorous conceptual enquiry, Koteshwar critiques the structures of academic and institutional authority while remaining grounded in a deeply personal investigation of history, corporeality, and representation. His practice opens urgent conversations about what is remembered, what is forgotten, and who decides.