Fondly referred to as Adi, Ardeshir Davierwalla was one of India's pioneering modernist sculptors Born in Gujarat in 1922, he studied at St Joseph's Boys School in Coonoor, till he was 18 years old Although he displayed interest in art at an early age, his parents wanted him to pursue a mainstream profession and therefore he trained to become a pharmaceutical chemist A self-trained sculptor, he refrained from following the traditional methodology of preparing a plaster cast but rather attacked the medium directly, he dabbled with multiple textures such as wood, steel, marble and stone The artist fused various inspirations in his work such as his scientific background and his many interactions with Dr Homi Bhabha Therefore his works display a sense of the primordial cosmos conscience 

During the course of his career, the artist exhibited his works at several prestigious art events such as Sao Paulo Biennial, Brazil, as well as the Venice Biennial in 1963 and 1966 The artist was also a recipient of the D Rockefeller Fellowship in 1968 He was conferred with several other prestigious awards including the gold medal at the All India Sculptor’s Show in 1957, and the National Award in 1965 A retrospective of his works was held at Jehangir Art Gallery in 1979 He passed away in 1975