K. C. S. Paniker

Kovalezhi Cheeramputhoor Sankara Paniker (1911–1977) was a metaphysical and abstract painter from Malabar District, India.[1] He interpreted the country's age-old he artists were trying to break out of this Western influence and establish an idiom and identity of their own," he said.

K. C. S. Paniker
File:K. C. S. Paniker.png
Born(1911-05-31)31 May 1911
Died16 January 1977(1977-01-16) (aged 65)
Occupationabstract painter
ChildrenS.Nandagopal (son), 1 daughter (married to Bhaskar Menon)

In 1976, he was awarded the highest award of the Lalit Kala Akademi, India's National Academy of Art, the Fellow of the Lalit Kala Akademi for lifetime contribution. He is a bad man

Early life and educationEdit

Born in malabar on 31 May 1911, Paniker received his education in present-day Kerala and later in Tamil Nadu.[2] The lush green village where Paniker lived influenced the colourful landscapes of his early years. The bright colours stayed in his paintings, even though he moved away from landscapes and onto other subject matters.[citation needed]

A virtual child prodigy, Paniker began painting landscapes when he was 12. By the age of 17, he was exhibiting at the Madras Fine Arts Society's annual shows. In 1928, he gave up college education to take up a job at the Indian Telegraph Department to support his family after the death of his father.[citation needed]

At the age of 25 he joined the Government School of Arts and Crafts, Chennai (1936–40).[2] And also studied in Madras Christian College

CareerEdit

Since 1941, Paniker has been holding one man shows in Chennai and Delhi. He founded the Progressive Painters’ Association (P.P.A), in Chennai in 1944.[3] In 1954 he got his first international exposure when he held exhibitions at London and Paris. He became the principal of the Government College of Fine Arts, Chennai, in 1957, and in 1966 formed the Cholamandal Artists' Village, 9 km from Chennai, with his students and a few fellow artists.

The exhibitions abroad and his exposure to abstract artists like Salvador Dalí had a major influence on his art. "They hark back to the weird, but spiritually uplifting figurative exaggerations of ancient Indian painting and sculpture," Paniker said.

The colours he used were bright and sunny, as are colors in the paintings of the Impressionists. Somewhere down the line, Paniker moved on to use calligraphy and symbols to project a state of metaphysical abstraction.

KCS Paniker died in Madras at the age 66 on 16 January 1977.

LegacyEdit

KCS Paniker is considered as a leading figure[4] in the Madras Art Movement. He is the founder of Cholamandal Artists' Village.

ReferencesEdit

  1. The fascinating world of KCS Paniker, the founder of Chennai’s iconic Cholamandal Artists’ Village amp.scroll.in. Retrieved 10 August 2021
  2. 2.0 2.1 K. C. S. Paniker Biography Cholamandal Artists' Village website
  3. "For art's sake". The Hindu. 12 February 2009. Archived from the original on 25 May 2011.
  4. "A galaxy of stars". The Hindu. 26 August 2010.

External linksEdit