Peter Shelton, a Los Angeles-based sculptor known for his thought-provoking works incorporating abstracted and figurative forms, selected Shiva’s Family, a 10th-century Indian sandstone sculpture, for LACMA’s “Artists on Art” series. This artwork, created in Haryana or Uttar Pradesh, India, around the mid-10th century, captures Shelton’s attention due to its intriguing blend of sensuality and vitality. Despite Shiva’s association with destruction, Shelton finds a compelling “life force” emanating from the sculpture, a quality he deeply connects with in his own artistic explorations.
Indian sculpture Shiva’s Family from the 10th century at LACMA, showcasing a stone carving of Hindu deities.
Shelton elaborates on his fascination with Indian sculpture, particularly how Shiva’s Family seems “carved from the inside out.” He notes that experiencing the sculpture fully requires movement and a shift in perspective. The artwork encourages viewers to engage with its forms from multiple angles, tracing the lines and interpretations embedded within the sandstone. This active engagement mirrors the sculpture’s own internal dynamism, evident in the embracing arms and encircling motifs like the snake and garland of skulls. For Shelton, the sculpture transcends its material nature, feeling less like rigid stone and more like an “inflated” form, pulsating with an unseen energy.
Close-up detail of the Shiva Family sculpture highlighting the intricate carving and sensuous forms as discussed by Peter Shelton.
Drawing parallels to his own sculptural work, Shelton sees Shiva’s Family as embodying the threshold between inner and outer realms, a concept he frequently explores. His art often delves into the space between the tangible and the intangible, the spacious and the objective. He believes the essence of sculpture lies in its capacity to evoke life in an unexpected manner. Sculpture, in its physical presence, prompts a bodily encounter, fostering self-awareness about our own physicality and state of being. Encountering Shiva’s Family reinforces Shelton’s perception of how profoundly alive a sculpture can feel. He regards this piece as the most intricate and “voluptuous” artwork within his favorite gallery at the museum. For Peter Shelton, the Shiva’s Family sculpture masterfully transforms inert, heavy stone into a vibrant entity, brimming with sensuality and life force.
Shiva’s Family is currently exhibited in the Ahmanson Building, Level 4 of LACMA, inviting viewers to experience the vitality that Peter Shelton so eloquently describes.
