Valay Shende, a video artist and sculptor whose work focuses on the troubles plaguing contemporary urban society and its members, was born in Nagpur in 1980. In 2000, he received his Diploma in an Art Teaching in Nagpur, and then went on to train at the Sir J.J. School of Art, Mumbai, from which he graduated with a BFA in sculpture in 2004. Shende later completed an artist residency at the Open Air Program, Point Ephemere, Paris, in 2006.

Inspired by his surroundings, Shende uses his body of work to capture the challenges and dichotomies that characterize India today, particularly the striking divide between modern and industrial views on one hand, and traditional religious ones on the other. His recent sculptures,...