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Prabhavathi Meppayil, l/hundred thirty one, 2018, copper wire embedded in gesso panel, 121.9 cm × 121.9 cm × 5 cm (48" × 48" × 1-15/16") © Prabhavathi Meppayil

Prabhavathi Meppayil

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b. 1965, Bangalore, India

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Prabhavathi Meppayil invokes artisanal legacies, affinities with Indian culture, and Minimalist and Postminimalist concepts in her work. She emphasizes process, gesture, and the qualities inherent to her materials.

From a family of several generations of goldsmiths, Meppayil has adopted the use of precious metals and goldsmithing tools and techniques as integral to her practice. In some works, she embeds thin gold or copper wires onto the surface of white gesso panels to create delicately precise lines; in others, she creates patterned abstractions with a thinnam, a traditional tool used by goldsmiths to incise patterns into metal. Meppayil’s integration of craft-based labor and process-based art positions her work in unique dialogue with a complex history of material and artistic production.

Her work is held in numerous public collections, including the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, Delhi; François Pinault Collection, Venice; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; and the Samdani Art Foundation, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

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Prabhavathi Meppayil, fifteen six zero-0630, 2019, concrete and copper, 15 cm × 38 cm × 38 cm (5-7/8" × 14-15/16" × 14-15/16") © Prabhavathi Meppayil

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Prabhavathi Meppayil, n/eighty nine, 2016, copper wire embedded in gesso panel, 48" × 60" (121.9 cm × 152.4 cm) © Prabhavathi Meppayil