Ram Kumar
(born 1924 in Shimla) is an Indian abstract painter and writer who was
described as one of India's foremost non-figurative artists. He was closely
associated with the Progressive artist's group along with M.F. Hussain, Tyeb
Mehta, S.H. Raza. He has received Lifetime Achievement Award, Government of
Delhi (2010), Padma Bhushan, Government of India (2010), Fellowship of the
Lalit Kala Akademi (2011). He is ‘No More’ physically, but ethically and
spiritually always he will be with us to guide and to understand …. 
Ram Kumar's
work, throughout his lifetime, has often been difficult to place within the
more simplistic narratives that have developed around modern Indian art. Ram
Kumar returned from Europe with a semi-figurative style that drew on
post-cubism, he eventually chose to abandon the figure entirely and began
working almost exclusively with the motifs of the abstract cityscapes and
landscapes, a move unique among his immediate contemporaries at the time. By insisting on the abstract, Kumar demands
something that most of his contemporaries do not; a private, contemplative
viewing experience. Like their counterparts in Western abstract art – the work
of Rothko and Hans Hoffman come to mind – these works are less about
transcendence and more about the visual encounter between the viewer and the
painting in front of them. Thus, the evolution in Kumar’s work that continues
to set him apart from his contemporaries can be understood as the embodiment of
a break between depicting something (the individual) to articulating the
possible response of that something; between picturing something and being it,
if you like.
His works
were urbanized, totally urbanized but with an eternal feeling and deep
sensation. In response to a simple initiation to understanding - This compassion, empathy was very clear, also the sense
of strangulation felt by the city folk...
Ram Kumar
replied “I
was an urban sort of product, I don't come from a village and so I don't know
anything about village life. I spend most of the time in Delhi, and so
naturally show the tragic side of urban life, young middle class boys, problems
of financial insecurity, unemployment, victims of the joint family as seen in
Sad Town.”
We have
asked - When
were the feelings of new happenings in you?
Ram
Kumar added, “Difficult
to say. I took to some ruins for the past two years. Humayun's tomb is behind
here, and the mystery attracted me. I wanted to find out the mystery behind
this architecture of Humayun's Tomb, which is like a work of art. I believe
there must be something beyond this which an artist can convey; perhaps in his
painting, though he is not an architect. The mystery of the black and white
lines and the arches, creates a particular kind of mystery, which I have tried
to understand. You know changes are very difficult to define; they can be very
subtle.”
The words of his brother, famous writer Nirmal Verma
come through, “History and memory become inseparable. There is something so
‘delicately disturbing’ in these paintings…” perhaps because “they evoke what
we remember, creating equivalence between memory and image.”
Today he is in the pages of history with the date 14th
April 2018. Regards and Salute you for all of your contributions in World and
Indian Art Segment. You will be remembered Sir.
Comments
Post a Comment