Contemporary artists mourn the death of KG Subramanyan and recount the memories they had with him. By Team Viva
What the world of contemporary art is doing today, KG Subramanyan did years ago. From murals to paintings and from terracotta art to illustrations — he was regarded one of the greatest contemporary masters of all times having trained under artists like Nandlal Bose, Ramkinkar Baij and Benode Bihari Mukherjee in Shantiniketan.. And he breathed his last yesterday, age 92.
According to reports, he was recovering from a recent surgery. Rajeev lochan, director of National Gallery of Modern Art, said, “The country has lost one of its legendary artist, pedagogue, theorist and scholar with the demise of K G Subramanyan. The NGMA mourns the loss of this noted personality whose contribution to the art world would be always remembered.”
We tracked down a few contemporary artist and this was what they had to say:
Sanjay Bhattacharya
I first met KG Subramanyan in a group show of five painters in 2006 in Baroda. He was invited as a chief guest. His personality had got a charm that can attract anyone. He was an academician and I always remember my first interaction with him. His radical approach, intellect and artistic skills were remarkable. He began his career as an artist from Santiniketan and took inspiration from folk culture and folk art like santhal tribal art. So he pushed himself towards the roots and brought his experience on canvas. Bet in the form of landscape or palm trees, whatever he painted had spoken of his surrounding and knowledge. Though hailing from Kerala he was most popular among Bengalis and they used to call him Mani-da. His brush work was notable. He had this unique ability to make simple and everyday objects like dogs and donkeys look brilliant using water colours. Thus his paintings proved great works need not necessarily be complicated, they should be understandable and pure. He was not only a great artist but a man of great stature. His most noteworthy traits were his simplicity and down to earth nature. The most memorable thing about him was his dedication towards his work which we rarely get to see now. Once I visited his solo show in Delhi and was mesmerised while going through his sketch book. There were hundreds of sketches that, too, by a man in his 80s…really astonishing! Another example of his hard work was when I saw him painting a mural in Santiniketan during summer. He was climbing ladder tirelessly, facing the scorching heat. Truly his commitment has set an example for all of us.
Naresh Kapuria
I have known him for many years — ever since the time we worked at the Triveni Kala Sangam. We have met quite a number of times during exhibitions and exchanged pleasantries. He was really good at what he did and always used various techniques to express himself. He worked with terracotta and his murals were inspiring at that time. What artists in the world of contemporary art is doing now, he did several years ago. Be it painting or art figures — he was a visionary in many ways. No wonder he was considered a contemporary master. He has left his mark in every field of art and it is great loss for the fraternity.
If it were in my hands I would like to curate a museum on KG Subramanyam alone.
Bose Krishnamachari
My first encounter with KG sir was through his paintings when I was studying at the JJ School of Arts in Bombay. Then I got some books on him from Jahangir Art Gallery and read up about him and grew more familiar with his works. After a few years, I was working on a project in which I was photographing and chronicling the works of 94 contemporary Indian artists and he was one of the artists I was profiling. I met him in Santiniketan, where he was living at that time and I was particularly impressed by his way Gandhian way of living. We talked for a long time and I was extremely lucky that he shared his knowledge on art with me. I got to learn a lot from his knowledge of contemporary and modern art as well as traditional and folk art. He had so much to talk about and share, having witnessed the evolution of modern art in the country from the period before independence to the current times. What I most admired him for was his versatility. He was not confined to just one medium, but was comfortable with anything from glass paintings, water colours, oil or murals. My last meeting with him was two years ago during the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, where his paintings were being exhibited. All I want to say is that he was a great artist, teacher, and most importantly, a great human.