Ashwini Bhat

Ashwini Bhat (born 1980) is an Indian ceramic artist who creates wood-fired ceramic sculptural work...

Born in Puttur, Karnataka, Ashwini Bhat earned a master's degree in literature from Bangalore University. She studied classical dance (Bharata Natyam) for ten years and traveled internationally as a professional dancer in the Padmini Chettur Dance Company for four years before beginning a career as a ceramic artist.

Bhat studied ceramics with Ray Meeker at Golden Bridge PotteryPondicherry where she later worked as an artist-in-residence.

In 2012, Bhat built a studio and woodfiring kiln near Auroville, Pondicherry, India. She continues to create sculptural ceramic art there and abroad.

Ashwini Bhat makes coil-built or hand-built stoneware and large-scale sculptural forms in a downdraft or anagama kiln.

She has collaborated with other international artists and writers, including Sharbani Das Gupta, Debra Smith, Seth Rainville, and Forrest Gander. In addition to gallery shows in India, her work has been exhibited in the USA, in Australia and in China and featured in major art publications such as The Logbook (Ireland), New Ceramics (Germany), Ceramic Art and Perception (Australia/USA), Marg Publications (India), Ceramics Ireland (Ireland), Ceramics Monthly (USA), Crafts Arts International (Australia), Info Ceramica (Spain), Art India (India), and Art New England (USA)

• The Howard Foundation Fellowship for Sculpture (2013–14)
• Shortlisted for Emerging Artist Award (2013–14), ICMEA 2013, Fuping, China

• "50 Women: A Celebration of Women's Contributions to Ceramics" at the American Jazz Museum, Kansas City, USA, 2016
• “Standing Wave Exhibition,” The Studios Inc, National Council for Education in Ceramic Arts (NCECA) 2016 Conference, Kansas City, USA
• Indian Museum at the FLICAM (FuLe International Ceramic Art Museums), Fuping, China
• Sculpture Garden, Grand Hyatt, Chennai, India
• Collection of Dr Raj and Asha Kubba, New Delhi, India
• "Earth Took of Earth," solo show, Newport Art Museum, Newport, Rhode Island, USA
• "Terra Firma," a two-person show with Sharbani Das Gupta, AS220 Gallery, Providence, RI, USA
• United Art Fair, New Delhi, India
• "Allegory of Fire," Clayspace Co-op, Asheville, North Carolina, USA