Chennai artist bags national scholarship in ceramics

Potrarasan S can be mistaken for just another artist who is immersed in his work when you see from afar. But a little chat will reveal that he is one of 40 artists who has received the prestigious National Research Scholarship awarded by the Lalit Kala Akademi. Not only that, his scholarship recognises his contribution to the field of ceramics and as Potrarasan claims, “I am the first to receive this honour in 10 years.”

The 25-year-old has completed his master’s in ceramics from the College of Art, Chennai, and then was absorbed by Dakshina Chitra where he was a faculty. He then moved to Lalit Kala Akademi in Chennai, where he is now a working artist. “As part of this scholarship, I receive `10,000 per month to improve my knowledge of the art and conduct experiments, etc. I can also travel and meet seniors in the field. It is a matter of great pride for me,” he shares.

Ceramics is taught in just three institutes in India — Kalakshetra, Dakshina Chitra and the College of Arts. Potrarasan says this award is really rare and plans to utilise this opportunity to promote the study of ceramics in India. “This award puts me on the international map. Ceramics is a green medium and is mostly popular  in the North. In the South very few artists work with this amazing medium. Only Auroville has some artists like me,” he says. He hopes this art does not become extinct, “Ceramics is not like other arts. You need to have in-depth knowledge of science for this. So this exposure will teach me many more things.”     

Potrarasan’s work is on display at Dakshina Chitra in Chennai till September 16. He tried to explore the water colour medium with rainy days as his subject. 

— susmita@newindianexpress.com