K G Subramanyan

K G Subramanyan, born in Kerala on 1924. He graduated in Economics from the Presidency College in Chennai and from Kala Bhavan in Santiniketan in 1948, where he studied under the great artists Benode Behari Mukherjee, Nandalal Bose and Ramkinkar Baij. In 1955, he was the recipient of a British Council Research Fellowship at the Slade School of Art at the University of London.

He has held over 50 solo shows and has left behind a rich legacy of artwork created in a multitude of mediums. Deeply rooted in Indian traditional values, he nevertheless cowed down to no one and always called a spade a spade. He was an inspiration to several batches of students both in Baroda and at Shantiniketan. K G Subramanyan was a multi-faceted person, highly regarded as a painter, writer and art history teacher at Shantiniketan and at Baroda. His work at first glance seems to have people and objects floating in either an interior or in a natural setting. On closer examination one finds a narrative deep rooted in Indian customs, folk and history. Never afraid to speak up for the down-trodden and the disfranchised, his art reflected his deep concern for people. The surface of his playful pictures shows a fractured but faceted balance of colour and aesthetics.

K G Subramanyan passed away in 2016 at the age of 92.