K. G. Subramanyan

K. G. Subramanyan
Born 1924 (age 91–92)
Kerala, India
Education Visva-Bharati University
Alma mater Visva-Bharati University
Occupation Painter, sculptor, muralist, printmaker, writer, academic
Movement Contextual Modernism
Spouse(s) Susheela
Children Uma
Awards Padma Shree, Kalidas Samman, Padma Bhushan, Padma Vibhushan

K. G. Subramanyan (born 1924) is one of the pioneers of Indian modern art. He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 2012.[1]

Life

Subramanyan was born in 1924 in a village in Kerala, India,[2] and initially studied economics at Presidency College, Madras.[3] During freedom struggle he was actively involved and was known for his Gandhian ideology. He was even imprisoned and later banned from joining government colleges during the British Rule. The turning point of his life, as an artist, came when he visited Santiniketan to study in Kala Bhavan, the art faculty of Visva Bharati University, in the year 1944. Under the tutelage such pioneers of modern Indian art as Nandalal Bose, Benode Behari Mukherjee and Ramkinkar Baij, Subramanyan studied there till 1948.

In 1951 he became a lecturer at the Faculty of Fine Arts in M.S. University in Baroda. He went to study briefly in London at the Slade School of Art as a British Council scholar in 1956. While having already gone back to Baroda as a professor in painting and continuing there, he did a short stint in New York as a Rockefeller Fellow in 1966.[4] In 1980, Subramanyan went back to Santiniketan to teach in his alma mater Kala Bhavan, Visva Bharati University, in his capacity as a professor in painting, which he continued till he retired in 1989. In the same year he was made a Professor Emeritus of Visva Bharati.

Subramanyan now stays in Baroda with his daughter Uma.

Later life and Legacy

Active for more than 65 years, and alive and very contemporary at 85 K.G.Subramanyan is one of India's most engaging and influential artists. Born in Kerala in the early 20s and keenly interested in the arts since childhood, he, however, decided to study art only after an initial engagement with socialist and Gandhian activism and a short term in prison for participation in the Quit India Movement. Debarred from government colleges for his involvement in the national movement he left Madras where he was pursuing a degree in economics and moved to Santiniketan in 1944, and from the orbit of Gandhi to the orbit of Rabindranath.

As an artist he is known as one of the most versatile practitioners, having done works, apart from painting, in the traditions of mural, various craft traditions of India, toy-making, pottery, illustration & design, terracotta sculpture. His paintings are noted for their inherent wit, ironies, satire and critical social commentaries.[5]

Retrospective Show

There has been numerous retrospective shows of K.G. Subramanyan. K.G. Subramanyan, a Retrospective was the fourth and largest retrospective show of K.G. Subramanyan, which was curated by R. Siva Kumar at the National Gallery of Modern Art.[6]

Career

Honours and awards

Memberships and Associations

Has also been on the Board of studies of M.S. University, Baroda; Benaras Hindu University, Benaras; Punjab University, Chandigarh; College of Fine Arts, Trivadrum, Kerala; Faculty of Fine Arts, Bombay University; Rabindra Bharati University, Calcutta etc. Member of the Editorial advisory Board of Leonardo

Books

Illustrated Books

Murals

References

  1. ↑ "Padma Awards". pib. 27 January 2013. Retrieved 27 January 2013.
  2. ↑
  3. ↑
  4. ↑ K. G. Subramanyan
  5. ↑ http://tinpahar.com/article/200
  6. ↑ http://www.frontline.in/static/html/fl2009/stories/20030509000807900.htm
  7. 1 2 3 "Padma Awards" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2015. Retrieved July 21, 2015.

External links

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