Scar Tissues

Women,with bruises on their rather alluring faces,their arms and erogenous zones sadistically mutilated,have formed the central figure in artist KG Subramanyans canvases for over five decades.

Written by Vandana Kalra
September 19, 2010 02:49 AM IST

3 min read

Artist KG Subramanyans latest solo show in the Capital explores his old obsession with scarred women
Women,with bruises on their rather alluring faces,their arms and erogenous zones sadistically mutilated,have formed the central figure in artist KG Subramanyans canvases for over five decades. In his ongoing solo exhibition at Art Heritage Galleries,Triveni Kala Sangam,they figure just as prominently. His canvas-scape is troubling at times. The women are both the heroine and the victim, observes the 87-year-old Baroda-based artists long-time associate Ebrahim Alkazi,as he points out to a canvas in thick shades of red and mustard with a disturbing image of a scarred woman in one corner,a man next to her,and flowers petals filling up the intervening space. It is difficult to understand what is in the artists mind, adds Alkazi,who has followed Subramanyans work from the time he was a student at Santiniketan in the 1940s,studying under masters like Nandalal Bose,Binode Behari Mukherjee and Ramkinkar Baij.

Across the room,Subramanyans publisher Naveen Kishore of Seagull Books agrees. There are several aspects that one needs to read and interpret. Its like forming a myth and telling a story, he notes. One of Indias most multi-faceted artists,Subramanyans works are not restricted to canvases alone. On the walls are goddesses,as well as women in domestic spaces. Terracotta reliefs on the tables urge for introspection,as Subramanyan writes in one of his poems,Anatomy Lesson: You do not have to go to anatomy rooms to see dismembered bodies,you can see them on the street. He might be too feeble to travel for shows,but there are several artworks already in progress at Subramanyans Baroda studio,says his daughter Uma Padmanabhan,who was in the city for the exhibition. But she refuses to comment on her fathers art. Its too personal, she states. Alkazi,meanwhile,talks of his favourite period of Subramanyans work. It is the period between the 1960s and 70s that he spent in Baroda,before returning to Santineketan. The contemporary atmosphere reflects in these works. There was a Gujaratiness in them, smiles Alkazi. The exhibition is on till September 30. Contact:2371-9470x