Stones sing to his tune- Gadadhar Ojha

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar, Jan 13:

Gadadhar Ojha is a lucky man who visits the most iconic and happening places in the world. His frequent participations in the symposiums and the exhibitions for sculptures take him around the world, and bagging prizes are an added bonus. This master sculptor traces his lineage back to ancestors who built the famous Black Pagoda or Konark temple in Odisha.

His parents wanted him to pursue the company secretary course in Delhi. He tried to complete the course but his DNA craved for creativity.  It is believed that thoughts are the architects of one’s destiny and Pablo Picasso had said – sculpture is the art of intelligence. Gadadhar became his own architect and has carved a niche for himself, carving master pieces on stones, wood, ice etc.

Gadadhar found the clang of the chisel and hammer on stone more musical than the rustle of papers. Growing up in Konark he had seen sculptures being sculpted in the traditional style. Nivedita Mishra his first guru, in Delhi College of Art, opened his eyes to the beauty of modern art and its different forms. Meeting Jean Louis Chabassud the French journalist in an art exhibition was the turning point in his life.

Odisha became his work station for the next two years and he acquired a small truck of granite stones to commence work. The working hours stretched from 16 to 18 hours a day and finally the hard work bore fruit in the form of aesthetic sculptures .He showcased these beautiful pieces through exhibitions in Odisha, Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi, Nagpur and Amritsar which brought him name and fame.

Ojha works with a wide variety of materials including fibre glass, granite, marble , bronze, wood , ice but prefers wood and stone as they aptly express his ideas. Minute details and an overwhelming presence of elements from nature define his work. These have been exhibited in international sculpture symposiums in various western countries like Argentina, UK, France, Italy, Germany, Finland, Romania, Switzerland, Canada etc. and won many prizes. His expertise in foreign languages like Nepali, French, Spanish and Italian has helped him communicate in the exhibitions.

The year 2015 has been very kind to Gadadhar. The recent participation at the  6th International Snow Scuplture Competition at Steinhaus – Cadipietra , 2500 mts above sea level at Klausberg Ski Arena Ahrntal Valley – ITALY, Fête D’Hiver de Saint-jean-port-joli (Québec ) CANADA,  Ayia Napa 2nd Sculpture Symposium – CYPRUS, Napa sculpture park , 6th international stone sculpture symposium in PANEVEZYS , Lithuania, Second international  symposium sculpture in Gyumri  Armenia 2015 , Symposium Pierres de Lanvaux  Morbihan , France  have won him many accolades.

He married his French sweetheart Annie who is his constant supporter in his creative endeavors, and now they  live in the Mecca of Art- Paris for the last 15 years. Since the last eight years he has been working on monumental sculptures with 35 participation around the world. A dream to open a quality sculpture park in Odisha is yet to be realized. He misses his family and the divine Mahaprasad but this is compensated when he comes home.