Conversations with Ashoke Chhabra

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashoke Chhabra.

Hi ashoke, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?

In the beginning there were many muses. These took the form of a love of music, to an interest in furniture design before finally embracing what I consider a fine art practice. Looking back each felt “right” in the moment and I allowed myself to become engrossed. I was accruing skills even if I was not conscious of how they would inform subsequent work. It is in this way that I believe the work I do now is in some way the culmination of all my lived experience. It also helped foster a sober work ethic, a plodding but determined effort to achieve my goals. I credit this tenacity as perhaps the single most important asset in the quest to lead a productive practice.
Today I am engaged in work that merges the dynamism of light with fine art sculpture. The work is informed by a design philosophy that that concerns itself with single motif. These typically vary in scale but not design. This modular concept directly contributes to the aesthetics of forms characterized by mix of facets and angles. The result is a body work that is at once compelling and cohesive. Now, eight years on, I still find the designs captivating enough to warrant continued study from my studio situated high in the hills above Los Angeles.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Adversity in some form was and is alway there. In the past this has often taken the form of ill-lit leaky work spaces or machinery I had to modify in order to complete the task at hand. I have always found the act of creating inherently challenging. One minute you are struggling to overcome technical hurdles and in the next grappling with some aesthetic concern. Struggle makes the victory, when it does arrive, that much sweeter.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
My current practice imagines a series skeletal forms chiefly made of plywood coupled with translucent materials such as acrylic and glass and light to dynamic effect. The forms themselves are the result of a modular process of fabrication which takes like-shaped components and typically joins them in a diminishing or ascending order according to size. This process results in the dense and complex geometry distinct to the majority of the designs. Finally each hollow form is illuminated from within by some from of LED lighting. In the end I see my job as a sculptor as taking these disparate elements and combining them in a manner that evokes a positive emotional response.

Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
Its not an app or resource that springs to mind but rather an activity. Exercise; specifically cycling. I credit this habit as a steading influence on both my temperament as well as on my ability to problem solve. I’m told that the repetitive nature of the exercise acts as a synapse enhancer, facilitating the ability to push past creative blocks. This is certainly the case for me. I occasionally do seek out podcasts. I find a fellow named Brainard Carey informative. I appreciate his no nonsense approach and will then and again seek out his sage advice on various subjects. Artist biographies often prove more inspiring offering interesting if occasionally fictionalized insights into the lives of well known subjects. Attending art openings is probably the best way for me to further my practice. Such occasions provide the opportunity to network, engage with collectors, fellow creatives, and gauge the state of the current market as a whole.

Pricing:

• $1600 – $7000

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.ashokechhabra.com
• Instagram: @ashokachhabra