Sculptures from the Museum of Madras Movement

CSN Patnaik (born 1925) specialised in fresco and mural painting techniques at the Banasthali Vidyapith, Rajasthan (1954) and later went to gain a Diploma in Fine Arts at the Government School of Arts and Crafts, Madras (1955). In 1975 he received an award from the Andhra Pradesh Lalit Kala Akademi. 

CSN Patnaik was one of the early students at the Madras Government College of Arts & Crafts. This work depicts a head of a man and is created in bronze.

S. Nandagopal (born 1946) gained a diploma from the Government College of Arts and Crafts, Madras in 1971. He received a Gold Medal at the IV International Triennial, New Delhi and In 1980, he received the Homi Bhabha Fellowship.

Nandagopal belongs to the contemporary sculpture movement in Madras. His works are frontal in nature and linear which marks the characteristics of the Madras Metaphor.

The medium for this sculpture is welded copper and brass and depicts Krishna vanquishing Bakasura the legendary evil bird.

Akkitham Narayanan (born 1939) gained his diploma from the Government College of Arts and Crafts, Madras in 1961, and was one of the founders of the Cholamandal Artists village (1962-64). In 1971 he was awarded at the 4th International Festival of Painting, Cagnes-sur-Mer, France and in 2016 the Padmini Memorial Award, the P.T Bhaskara Paniker Memorial Award and the Raja Ravi Verma Puraskaram. 

The sculpture Musician was done in 1962. Narayanan was very fascinated by Cubism and did the work in concrete. His paintings, like his sculptures at that time, carried the same spirit.

VM Sadanandan (born 1940) gained his diploma in Fine Arts from the Government College of Arts and Crafts, Madras in 1964. He was awarded the British Common Wealth Scholarship and a Post graduation at the Central School of Art and Design,London in 1965. From 1970 onwards he has lived and worked in Canada. 

Sadanandan was chiefly a painter who painted dark brooding figures. Early in his career he did a few cement sculptures and this one depicting a woman is one such work.

Richard Jesudoss (1939-2014) gained his diploma in Fine Arts from the Government College of Arts and Crafts, Madras in 1962 and later worked as an instructor from 1964-96. He was a life member of the Cholamandal Artist’s Village since 1965 and had a retrospective in 2013 curated by Youart. 

This work titled 'The Golden Egg' depicts the conflict between humans and animal and is one of the main threats to the continued survival of many species all around the world.

Vidya Shankar Sthapathy (born 1938) gained his diploma from the Government College of Arts and Crafts , Madras in 1962. He was awarded by the Bombay Art Society in 1976 and in 1993 won the National Award of the lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi.

Sthapathy happens to be the only craftsman who turned to contemporary sculpture and is one of the pioneers of the Madras Metaphor (the contemporary sculpture movement in Madras). This sculpture depicts a girl on a swing with the background of a tree and is crafted out of copper sheet.

Anila Jacob (born 1941) gained her diploma from the Government College of Arts and Crafts, Madras in 1964. She received the National Award in 1965 by the Lalit kala Akademi, New Delhi, in 1968 by the Madras State Lalit Kala Akademi and in 1976 by the Karnataka Chitra kala Parishath Award of the Mysore State. 

Anila Jacob started her career with sculptures in concrete and clay. Later she did a series of wood sculptures of which this is one such piece.

KM Gopal (born 1928) received his diploma in Advanced Painting in 1951 from the Government College of Arts and Crafts. In 1984 he was part of the Neo-Tantra Exhibition in Beirut, Hanover, Dusseldorf and Stuttgart. In 1990 he exhibited in Japan and Netherlands. 

Gopal is best known for his metal relief works. The work depicts Ganesha done with beaten copper in the repousse technique.

PV Janakiram (1930-1995) gained his diploma in Painting from Government College of Arts and Crafts, Madras in 1953 and later in 1962 received a diploma in Sculpture. He won the National Award of the Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi in 1964-66 and later the Grand Prix at the 2nd Biennale of Small Plastics, Budapest, Hungary. 

Janakiram made a name for himself in welded and beaten copper sheet sculpture. However, his early work was in cement concrete. This work is typical of his earlier series done in cement. It depicts a horse and a rider. The version in bronze is in the collection of the National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi.

S. Murugesan (born 1933) graduated in advanced Painting from the School of Arts and Crafts, Madras. In 1958, he joined as a faculty member at the same school. He had a one man show at AIFACS, New Delhi in 1968 and was awarded the National Award by the Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi in 1988-89.

Murugesan started his career as a painter. He later delved into sculpture creating monumental works in granite and cement concrete. This sculpture is cast in brass and depicts a head.

S. Paramasivam (born 1942) was a life member of the Cholamandal Artists’ Village and gained his diploma in Fine Arts from the Government College of Arts and Crafts, Madras in 1967. In 1977 he settled in Seattle, USA and later in 1989 he received an Honorable Mention at Mercer Island USA. 

While Paramasivam was in a Mexican grocery store in USA, he came upon some cactus piled-up beside some tomatillos. He couldn't resist buying them and they finally ended up on his dinner plate. That delicious slimy cactus was his inspiration for this piece.

PS Nandhan (born 1940) is a life member of the Cholamandal Artists Village, Madras. He gained his diploma in painting from the Government College of Arts and Crafts, Madras in 1968 and by 1972 he began experiments in folk-style sculptures in clay, metal sheets, brick, wood and granite. In 1992, he received the National Award by the Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi. 

In this sculpture, Movement of Line, Nandhan invites the viewer to go around the sculpture which is in green stone, discovering five elements. The result is resolving lines weaving in / out through fragments of heterogeneous nature. The air element enters the work bringing in the surrounding empty space as breath for the creation of five elements.

C, Dakshinamoorthy (1943-2016) graduated with a diploma from the Government College of Arts and Crafts, Madras in 1966. He went to do a Post-graduate at Croydon College of Design and Technology on a British Council Scholarship in 1977-78 and later received a National Award by the Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi in 1985.

This sculpture by Dakshinamoorthy is in granite, carved with figures of women in the tradition of the Mahabalipuram sculptors but in the modernistic tradition.

S. Dhanapal (1919-2000) gained his diploma in Painting from the Government College of Arts and Crafts, Madras in 1940, and was later appointed as principle from 1972-77. He was conferred with a fellowship by the Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi in 1982.

Dhanapal worked in clay and bronze. This work depicts a village deity and the medium is bronze. This work is typical of the frontal sculpture of the movement.

K. Kunhiraman (born 1937) gained his diploma in Sculpture from the Government College of Arts and Crafts, Madras in 1960. In 1965 he received the Commonwealth Scholarship in Sculpture at the Slade School of Arts in London. He was the principle of the Government College of Fine Arts, Thiruvananthapuram (1987) and the Chairman of the Kerala Lalit Kala Akademi (2001).

Kunhiraman came upon the Madras art scene with sculptures in cement and bronze. He later executed large monumental pieces in Kerala. This particular piece done during the College days at Madras Government School of Arts & Crafts envisages his later phase.

S. Gopal (1945-2011) joined the Department of Industries and Commerce, Madras in 1961. He taught sculpture for 40 years (1963-2003) and was awarded the Madras State Lalit Kala Akademi in 1966 and the Hyderabad Art Society award, Andhra Pradesh in 1968. 

This is work done by S. Gopal, in cement and patinated with gold and black to achieve a bronze finish. It is a frontal sculpture - in line with the tradition of the Madras Movement.