Ashwini Bhat

Lot #11
Assembling California, Atlas Fire, 2019
Sculpture, glazed ceramic
25.5 x 18 x 7 in.
Courtesy of the artist and Shoshana Wayne Gallery, Los Angeles

About the Artwork

Ashwini Bhat’s Assembling California series documents the artist’s personal field survey of California’s shifting ecologies; as a new immigrant to the state, Bhat was deeply touched by its diverse and fragile natural environments. Her research has taken place in the company of biologists and poets both, documenting species as they reinhabit post-fire sites in the Sierras, Yosemite, Mono Lake, and around Sonoma. Of her work—formed by bringing her hands, her story, and her research to earth that is then transformed by fire—Bhat says, “I’m not interested in creating a perfect object, if what defines an object is our removal from it. Instead, I’m searching for gestural links that emphasize what we share with the non-human world.” Bhat holds an MA in literature and had an earlier career in classical Indian dance. She is the recipient of a 2014 Howard Foundation Award, and a 2021 McKnight Foundation Residency Fellowship.

Retail Value: $6,000