Rajesh Ram’s solo exhibition in Patna traces childhood memories through sculpture, exploring nature, migration and belonging in bronze and mixed media.
About the exhibition
“Kaghaz Ki Kashti – Retracing Memories of Boyhood” opens at Bihar Museum, Patna, on 7 August 2026 and runs until 7 September 2026. Presented by Palette Art Gallery in collaboration with Bihar Museum, the retrospective gathers works that map the artist’s journey from a Jharkhand village to contemporary sculpture. The show brings together bronze, terracotta, wood and mixed-media pieces built around motifs such as paper boats, rivers, trees, birds and children.
Image Credit: Palette Art Gallery
Artist practice
Rajesh Ram draws on oral histories, folk traditions and the craft practices of his childhood. He first learned modelling from local artisans who made clay deities for village festivals, and later trained at Patna Art College. Working primarily in bronze, Ram balances technical skill with poetic feeling. His forms—children on branches, birds poised for flight, drifting boats—become metaphors for freedom, resilience and hope.
Key themes in the Patna exhibition
The exhibition foregrounds memory, ecology and community. Recurring motifs of rivers and boats speak to mobility and migration; trees and birds suggest rootedness and aspiration. Palette Art Gallery’s directors note that Ram “transforms deeply personal memories of rural childhood into a universal language of hope, resilience and belonging.” The works invite viewers to reflect on the changing rural landscape and shared human ties to nature.
Curatorial focus and homecoming
Kaghaz Ki Kashti marks a significant homecoming for the artist. The presentation is one of his most comprehensive, returning his work to the cultural landscape that shaped him. Ram describes the show as a personal return: “Nothing gives me greater happiness than presenting this exhibition at Bihar Museum. It is a homecoming where students, fellow artists, friends and visitors can experience the journey of my work—from its beginnings in my village to where it stands today.” The retrospective emphasises continuity between vernacular craft and contemporary sculptural practice.
Image Credit: Palette Art Gallery
Highlights to look for
Visitors can expect intimate figurative bronzes, terracotta studies and mixed-media installations that restage everyday rural scenes as poetic allegories. The paper-boat motif recurs across scales and materials, connecting small childhood acts with broader questions of movement and belonging. The show’s balance of nostalgia and contemporary relevance makes it accessible to a wide audience.
Exhibition details
- Title: Kaghaz Ki Kashti – Retracing Memories of Boyhood
- Artist: Rajesh Ram
- Venue: Bihar Museum, Nehru Path, Patna, Bihar 800001, India
- Dates: 7 August 2026 – 7 September 2026
- Presented by: Palette Art Gallery in collaboration with Bihar Museum
- Enquiries: paletteart@gmail.com
This article has been created from the press kit shared with Abir Pothi. For press releases and related queries, write to editor@abirpothi.com.
Cover Image: A Weary Journey | Bronze dust | pigmented epoxy, silica, paper pulp canvas on plywood panted in acrylic | 72x48x3 | 2025 | Image Credit: Palette Art Gallery
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