KG Subramanyan was born in 1924 in Kuthuparamba, Kerala. He studied at the Slade School of Art, University of London, on a British Council Research Fellowship, and at Kala Bhavan, Visva Bharati University, Santiniketan. He has done his Bachelors in Economics from Presidency College, Chennai.

His awards include: Padma Vibhushan (2012) by the Government of India; Padma Bhushan (2006), Government of India; Lifetime Achievement Award (2005), Academy of Fine Arts, Kolkata; Lalit Kala Ratna Puraskar (2004), Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi on the occasion of its Golden Jubilee; Gana Krishti Puraskar (2001), Kerala; Manaviyam Ravi Varma Award (2001), Government of Kerala; Jadunath Sarkar Gold Medal (2000), Asiatic Society, Kolkata; Abanindra Puraskar (2000), Kolkata; Kala Ratna (1999), All India Fine Arts and Crafts Society (AIFACS), New Delhi; D. Litt (Honoris Causa) (1997), Benaras Hindu University, Varanasi; Shiromani Puraskar (1994), Kolkata; Conferred Fellowship (1993), Kerala Lalit Kala Academy, Kerala; D. Litt (Honoris Causa) (1992), Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata; Gagan - Aban - Puraskar (1991), Visvabharati, Santiniketan; Fellow (1985), Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi; Kalidas Sanman (1980); Visiting Fellow (1977-78), Kala Bhavan, Visvabharati, Santiniketan; Padma Shri (1975), Government of India; Gold Medal (1968), First International Triennale, New Delhi; Fellowship (1966), J. D. Rockefeller III Fund, USA; National Award for ‘Studio’ (1965), Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi; Maharashtra State Award (1961); Medallion of Honorable Mention (1961), Sao Paulo Biennale, Brazil; Bombay Art Society (1959), Mumbai; Governor’s Prize, Bombay Art Society, Mumbai; British Council Research Scholarship to Slade School of Art, UK.

He has had 3 retrospectives so far: ‘K.G. Subramanyan: A Retrospective (2003), National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), New Delhi and Mumbai; Retrospective K.G. Subramanyan (1983), Birla Academy of Art and Culture, Kolkata; Retrospective (1981), Bharat Bhavan, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.

His important solo exhibitions include: Mythologies (2013-14), on the eve of 25th Anniversary of Gallerie 88, Kolkata; Magic of Making: Recent Artworks by K.G. Subramanyan (2009), at Akar Prakar, Aakriti Art Gallery and The Seagull Foundation for the Arts, Kolkata; Exhibition of Glass and Acrylic Sheet Paintings (1982), Nandan Gallery, Santiniketan, West Bengal; Exhibition of Terracotta Relief’s and Paintings (1978), Nandan Gallery, Santiniketan, West Bengal; Delhi Silpi Chakra (1955), Freemason’s Hall, New Delhi.

His important international participations include: From Everyday To The Imagined: Modern Indian Art (2007-08), Singapore Art Museum, Singapore, and at Museum of Art, Seoul National University, Seoul; Cubism in Asia: Unbounded Dialogues (2006-05), The Singapore Art Museum, Singapore, The National Museum of Contemporary Art, Korea, and The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo; Six Indian Artists (1983), Tate Gallery and Royal Academy of Arts, London; India : Myth and Reality (1982), Museum of Modern Art, Oxford, UK; Contemporary Indian Art (1982), Royal Academy of Arts, London; Asian Artist’s Exhibition, Part II (1980), Japan; Sao Paulo Biennale (1979,64), Brazil; Tokyo Biennale (1964), Japan.

The artist lived and worked in Vadodara, until his death in 2016.

ESSAYS

K G Subramanyan (1924-2016)

by Critical Collective

In this last week, two outstanding sons of Kerala passed on. Yet it is only in their passing that key values in their practice appear, like a mirrored, shadow gesture of similarities. In the politicized, yet effervescent cultural scene of India in the 1980s, Kavalam Narayana Panicker, who passed away

KG Subramanyan - The search for authenticity

by Keshav Malik

Published in Kala Darshan complete magazine of Indian arts and culture volume 2 no 2 April-June 1989, pp. 9-12.

When separation in the several art media is the current rule, the assorted works of K.G Subramanyan may well appear as quixotism. But, one wonders, if in this case it is really so. The

Breaking down boundaries

by Soumitra Das

When an artist’s career spans several decades as the 90-year-old K.G. Subramanyan’s does, it is bound to have several phases of change, when his ideas, style, materials used and even media would have undergone gradual but radical transformations. These transformations, however, would be so unhurried

K G Subramanyan

K G Subramanyan (1924-2016)

KG Subramanyan - The search for authenticity

Breaking down boundaries

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