A Ramachandran

Born in 1935 in Kerala, A. Ramachandran graduated in Malayalam Literature from the University of Kerala before pursuing a Diploma in Fine Arts and Crafts from Kala Bhavan, Visva Bharati University in Santiniketan. Deeply influenced by Nandalal Bose, Ramachandran strongly advocates Indian aesthetics and the use of classical Indian images to articulate an ideological position. The painter began using archetypal Indian images only after years of painting in the modernist style. Deeply influenced by the prevailing socio-political situation in Kerala, his early works depicted oppression, violence and war. Human figures were dismembered, most decapitated.

Various aspects of classical Indian art have been integrated into Indian art, including composite motifs and images, decorative elements, and the vibrancy of shapes and colors. He admits that he has been inspired and used extensively by Kerala murals, Nathadwara paintings and Ajanta murals in his works. In many of his paintings, you can see a decorative element very similar to the murals. However, in most of his works, the decorative element does not stand out, it is intrinsic, he incorporates clothing and jewelry into his figures as part of the general design.

Ramachandran believes that Yayati's monumental painting was one of the milestones in his growth as an artist because it allowed him to incorporate elements of classical proportions and postures into his work. Executed as a narrative, it forced Ramachandran to use Indian mythological imagery in a contemporary form.

Ramachandran has had several solo exhibitions, some of which include Recent Works at Grosvenor Vadehra, London, in 2008, A Ramachandran's Face-to-Face Art Practice at the Guild Art Gallery, Mumbai and New York, in 2007-08, and Illustrations by Gaudis. Ocean on Nami Island, South Korea, in 2005. Vadehra Art Gallery organized three retrospective exhibitions of his work in 2004, the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), New Delhi, in 2003, and the Kumar Gallery in Art Heritage, New Delhi and the Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai, in 1983. Ramachandran has also participated in several group exhibitions, including Progressive to Altermodern at Grosvenor Gallery, London, in 2009, From Everyday To The Imagined Modern Indian Art at the Museum of Art of Singapore, Singapore and the Seoul Museum of Art in 2007-08, the Festival of India in Coups de Coeur, Geneva, in 1987, the Sao Paulo Biennale, Brazil, in 1979, the Menton Biennale, France, in 1974, and the New Delhi Triennale, India, in 1968.

Ramachandran was awarded the Padma Bhushan by the Government of India in 2005 and the Raja Ravi Verma Puraskar by the Government of Kerala in 2003.

The artist lives and works in New Delhi and Kochi.

BORN

1935 Attingal, Kerala

DIED

10 February 2024

EDUCATION QUALIFICATIONS

1975 Study trip to Japan with a scholarship from the Japan Foundation

1962, 65 Ph.D. in Kerala Mural Painting, Visva Bharati

1957, 61 Diploma in Fine Arts and Crafts, Kala Bhavan, Visva-Bharati University, Santiniketan

1954, 57 M.A. (Malayalam Literature), Kerala University

SELECTED RETROSPECTIVE EXHIBITIONS

2004 Retrospective, organized by Vadehra Art Gallery, National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), New Delhi. 

2003 National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), New Delhi

1983 Retrospective, organized by Kumar Gallery at Art Heritage, New Delhi and Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai.

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2016 Poems with Images of Earthen Pots 2016, Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi

2014 Two part exhibition, Drawings, Sketches and Retrospective Studies 1958 to 2014 and Fantastic Paintings and Sculptures of Ekalinji 2009 to 2014, presented by Vadehra Art Gallery, Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi

2013 A. Ramachandran Selected works from 1964 to 2013, Durbar Hall Gallery, Kochi, organized by Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi

2009 Bahurupi, Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi

2008 Presented by Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi at Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai

2008 Recent works, Grosvenor Vadehra, London

2007-08 Face to Face, Art Practice by A Ramachandran, The Guild Art Gallery, Mumbai and New York

2006 The Universe in the Lotus Pond, Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi, Birla Academy of Art and Culture, Kolkata

2005 Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi

2005 Illustrations by Gaudis Ocean, exhibited on Nami Island, South Korea. 

2002 Watercolor Exhibition, organized by Fine Arts Resource, Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai

2002 Yayati, Artistic Heritage, New Delhi

2001 Imagined Territory, paintings, drawings and sculptures, Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi. 

1998 Icons of the Raw Earth, Part I, an exhibition of drawings and bronze sculptures at the Shridharani Gallery, New Delhi, 

1998 Icons of the Raw Earth, Part II, exhibition of drawings and bronze sculptures at Art Today, New Delhi

1998 Ganesha Gallery, New Delhi

1997 The Lotus Pond in Obeshwar, organized by Kala Yatra, Sistas Art Gallery, Bangalore

1996 Paintings and watercolors, Arks Gallery, London

1994 Reality in Search of Myth, organized by Kala Yatra, Bangalore in Calcutta, Chennai, Bangalore, Mumbai and New Delhi. 

1991 Urvashi Pururavas and the Lotus Pond, Shridharani Gallery, New Delhi

1991 Paintings and watercolors, Kala Yatra, Bangalore. 

1986 Completed the large 60 x 8 mural and a group of 13 bronze sculptures commissioned by E Alkazi, Shridharani Gallery, New Delhi. 

1984 Bodies of Water, Lalit Kala Studies, Garhi

1981 Puppet Theatre, Dhoomimal Gallery, New Delhi

1979 21 Portfolios of Etchings, sponsored by SHAOOR, Prithvi Theatre, Mumbai

1978 Retrospective, organized by Kumar Gallery, Hansalaya, New Delhi. 

1977, 75, 70, 68, 67, 66 Kumar Gallery, New Delhi

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2013 Ideas of the Sublime, presented by Vadehra Art Gallery at Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi

Gallery Collection 2012, Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi

Gallery Collection 2012, Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi

2011 The Lotus Path of Indian Art, Grosvenor Gallery, London

2011 Natural Bodies, Subverted Canons, Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi

2010 Freedom to March Rediscovering Gandhi through Dandi, presented by Ojas Art at Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi

2010 10 x 10, Threshold Gallery, New Delhi

2010 Paper Trails, Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi

2010 The Living Insignia, Ensign Gallery, New Delhi

2010 Black and White, Galerie Mirchandani Steinruecke, Mumbai

2009 Progressive to Altermodern 62 Years of Indian Modern Art, Grosvenor Gallery, London

2009 Kalpana Figurative Art in India, presented by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) at Aicon Gallery, London, Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) 

2008 Modern and Contemporary Indian Art, Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi

2007 High on Art, Visual Art Gallery, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi

2006-07 Indian Art Part II Inventing Inverted Traditions, Grosvenor Vadehra, London

2006 Naked Line, drawings by 12 artists in New Delhi and Mumbai, organized by Delhi Art Gallery, New Delhi

2005 Spirit Set Free Golden Jubilee Exhibition, Kumar Art Gallery, New Delhi

2003 Celebration of Color, organized by Vadehra Art Gallery and The Times of India, Mumbai and New Delhi. 

2003 Pictorial Transformations, National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), New Delhi

2000 Celebration of the Human Image, organized by Thinking Eye, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi

2000 Counterpoint Point, Gallery Espace, New Delhi

1997 Colors of Independence, organized by Center for International Modern Art (CIMA), National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), New Delhi and Center for International Modern Art (CIMA), Kolkata. 

1997 Major Trends in Indian Art 50th Anniversary of Indian Independence, organized by Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi

1997 Contemporary Indian Art Rediscovering the Roots, organized by Lalit Kala Akademi in Lima, Peru

1997 Post-Independence Indian Contemporary Art, organized by Vadehra Art Gallery, National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), New Delhi. 

1996 Contemporary Indian Painters, organized by Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai and New Delhi. 

1996 Chamatkara Myth and Magic in Indian Art, organized by the Center for International Modern Art (CIMA), Kolkata at Whitley Art Gallery, London

1995 Inaugural exhibition, Art Today, New Delhi

1995 Contemporary Indian Painting, Christies Exhibition Auction

1994 Drawing 94, organized by Gallery Espace, All India Fine Arts and Crafts Society (AIFACS), New Delhi. 

1994 Review 1930-1993 of the NGMA Collection, National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), New Delhi

1993 Wounds, organized by the Center for International Modern Art (CIMA), Kolkata in Mumbai, New Delhi and Kolkata. 

1991 Artists for Helpage, auction organized by Helpage and Aspreys, UK, in Mumbai

1991 Masters, organized by Vadehra Art Gallery, Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai

1990 Art Mosaic, Mumbai, New Delhi, Calcutta

1989 Nature, organized by Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi

1989 Art for Cry, Mumbai, New Delhi, Calcutta

1989 Artist Alert, Sahmat Exhibition Auction

1986 Contemporary Indian Painting, Frankfurt Book Fair, Germany

1985 India in print, Tropen Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands

1982 Contemporary Indian Art, Royal Academy of Arts, England

1982 India, myth and reality, Museum of Modern Art, Oxford, England

1982 Modern Indian Painting, Washington

1982 Indische Kunst Heute, Federal Republic of Germany

1982 Inaugural Exhibition, Bharat Bhavan, Bhopal

1982 Indian Painting Today, Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai and Asian Art, Bangladesh

1977 Pictorial space, Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi

1973 Contemporary Indian Painting, 25th Anniversary of Indian Independence, Washington, Los Angeles, Toronto

1972 Art Now, Kunika Chemould Gallery, New Delhi

1972 Drawings, Kunika Chemould Gallery, New Delhi

1970 Contemporary Indian Painting, Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo and Kyoto Municipal Museum, Japan

1970 Indian Painters and Sculptures 1970, Kunika Chemould Gallery, New Delhi

1969 Contemporary Indian painting, Australia

1969 Indian Painters 69, Max Muller Bhavan and Birla Academy, Calcutta

1966 Kumar Gallery, New Delhi

1966 Ten Indian Painters, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and State Museum of New Jersey, USA. 

1963 Indian Fine Arts and Crafts Society (AIFACS), New Delhi

PARTICIPATIONS

2013 The Nude and the Nude The Body in Modern Indian Art, Delhi Art Gallery, New Delhi

2012 Art for Humanity, Coomaraswamy Hall, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, Mumbai

2011 Ethos V Indian Art through the Lens of History (1900 to 1980), Indigo Blue Art, Singapore

2011 Manifestations VI, Delhi Art Gallery, New Delhi

2011 Time Unfolded, Kiran Nadar Museum of Art (KNMA), New Delhi

Celebrations 2011 2011, Kumar Gallery, New Delhi

2010 Art Celebrates 2010 Sports and the City, represented by Vadehra Art Gallery at Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi, coinciding with the celebration of the Commonwealth Games

2010 Roots, 25th Anniversary Exhibition of Sakshi Art Gallery, Mumbai at The Park, Chennai

2010 Celebration 2010, Annual Exhibition, Kumar Art Gallery, New Delhi

2007-08 From Everyday To The Imagined Modern Indian Art, Singapore Art Museum, Singapore and Art Museum, Seoul National University, Seoul

1992 Birla Academy of Art and Culture Silver Jubilee Exhibition, Kolkata

1987 Festival of India, Coups de Coeur, Geneva

1986 Havana Biennial, Cuba

1980 Silver Jubilee Exhibition of Miniature Paintings, Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Calcutta

1979 Lalit Kala Akademi Silver Jubilee Exhibition of Sculptures, New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Calcutta

1979 Sao Paulo Biennial, Brazil

1978 Restrospike India Triennial, Federal Republic of Germany

1976 25th Pugwash Conference, Chennai

1975 Annual Exhibition of the Society of Contemporary Art, Calcutta

1974 Menton Biennale, France

1972 25 years of Indian art, Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi

1971 Contemporary Indian Painting, Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Salvador in Brazil and Venezuela

1971 Triennial-II, India and National Art Exhibition, New Delhi

1968 Triennial-I, India

1967 Tokyo Biennale, Japan

1968 Triennial-I, India

HONORS AND AWARD

2005 Padma Bhushan, Government of India

2003 Raja Ravi Verma Puraskar, Government of Kerala

2001 Manaviyam Award, Manaviyam Cultural Mission, Government of Kerala

2000 Gagan - Abani Puraskar, Viswa Bharati University

1991 Sanman Parishad, Sahitya Kala Parishad, New Delhi

1980 Noma Award for Illustration of Illustrated Children's Books

1978 Noma Award for Illustration of Children's Picture Books from Japan

1973.69 National Painting Prize, New Delhi