Upendra Ram

Ceramic Artist | Nagpur, India | Born 1987, Siwan, Bihar

Upendra Ram is a contemporary ceramic artist whose evocative works transform clay into powerful vessels of memory, protest, and identity. Born in Siwan, Bihar, and currently based in Nagpur, he earned his MFA in Pottery & Ceramics from Banaras Hindu University in 2013. He is the resident ceramicist at Studio Pottery, Nagpur, where he engages with clay not merely as a medium, but as a living archive of social histories and marginalized voices.

Drawing from the cultural and ritualistic practices of eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar—where unglazed clay forms serve both sacred and social purposes—Upendra’s practice explores the intersection of tradition, dissent, and caste. His refined ceramic renderings are deeply rooted in communities long denied artistic visibility, using form to question and subvert hierarchy.

Through his work, Upendra interrogates the everyday. In particular, he draws attention to the caste-coded use of terracotta chai cups in North India—objects discarded after a single use, reflecting a lingering stigma of untouchability. By elevating such clay forms into high-art contexts, he blurs the line between elite ceramic tradition and vernacular craft.

“I do drawing in ceramic work,” he explains. “Whatever happens in our society, there is a history of that. I have made four plates here, on top of that—how the difference between male and female is seen from the point of view of society.”

This deeply personal yet universally resonant commentary recurs in his works—renderings that blend sculptural beauty with socio-political critique. Whether sculpting indigenous deities once shaped from ritual clay mounds or reimagining the humble chai cup, Upendra crafts layered narratives that speak to inequality, memory, and resilience.

Through his practice, clay becomes more than earth—it becomes witness, resistance, and voice.