Temple Art's Living Tradition

Hindu temple sculpture is not a historical practice but a continuing tradition. New temples in India and across the Hindu diaspora still hire sculptors trained in workshops that keep centuries-old techniques alive. The master-apprentice system, the iconographic manuals, and the ritual preparations remain intact.

The tradition has also sparked modern work. Artists like Anish Kapoor draw on Hindu ideas — the void, the womb, the mirror — in minimalist sculptures. His huge reflective pieces act like secular temples, creating the same wonder and self-reflection a visitor feels inside a sacred space.