Women : An Ink drawing by K.G. Subramanyan, the recipient of Padma Vibhushan and Padma Bhushan by the Government of India.
The artist gave the human figure a new dimension. Drawing upon the rich resources of myth, memory and tradition, Subramanyan tempers romanticism with wit and eroticism.
Critic Geeta Kapur has stated that Subramanyan was deeply influenced by popular, modern, classical and indigenous traditions. No matter what the medium, be it handmade paper or acrylic sheet, his artistic practice has integrated fluid traditions so as to create a new lingua franca. The strokes that shape the faces and the little blobs, the vertical and horizontal drama all become like a choreographed symbolism that has a sense of play in line and length. Nothing is in excess, nothing is obnoxious but each stroke forms the finesse of versatile ventures.
Style : K G Subramanyan was one of the leading artists who was part of India’s post-Independence search for identity through art. A writer, scholar, teacher and art historian, K G Subramanyan was prolific in his art, spanning the spectrum of mediums from painting to pottery, weaving, and glass painting. He believed in the value of Indian traditions and incorporated folklore, myth and local techniques and stories into his work.
About the Artist and his work :
Born : Born in Kerala on 15 February 1924.
Education : He completed his Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from the Presidency College in Chennai.
In 1948, he graduated from Kala Bhavan in Santiniketan, where he studied under the tutelage of Benode Behari Mukherjee, Nandalal Bose and Ramkinkar Baij.
In 1955, he received a British Council Research Fellowship to the Slade School of Art at the University of London.
He was an inspiration to generations of students as a member of the Baroda M S Fine Arts Faculty. His focus there in later years was on terracotta and pottery.
Shows : In a career spanning nearly seven decades, K G Subramanyan’s work has been exhibited in over fifty solo shows.
Solo Shows :
2014 – The Government Museum & Arts Gallery, Chandigarh.
2014 – Red Earth Gallery, Vadodara.
2018 – Art Musings, Mumbai, KG Subramanyan – In the honeycomb of stories.
Group Shows :
2014 – Sakshi Gallery, Mumbai, India, Shades of Gray
2015-2016 – Seagull Foundation for the Arts in collaboration with the Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai, and the Harrington Street Arts Centre, Kolkata.
2016 – Dag Modern, New York, The Art of Bengal
2016 – AkaraArt, Mumbai, Mysteries of the Organism
2017 – New Delhi, Dag Modern at India Art Fair 2017
Award :
2012 – Padma Vibhushan in 2012
2006 – Padma Bhushan by the Government of India.
Death : K G Subramanyan passed away on 29 June 2016 at the age of 92.
