By Cholamandal Artists' Village
Museum of Madras Movement
Showcasing a representative collection of drawings and prints of a distinct style of contemporary art by artists from four southern states of India: Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Karnataka
The Madras Movement
After Devi Prasad Roy Choudhary’s retirement in 1957, K.C.S.Paniker took over as the principal of Government College of Arts & Crafts, Madras (now Chennai). He pioneered a modern path for Indian artists which came to be later known as the Madras Movement. This also coincided with the post-independence period when artists were striving to break the shackles of colonialism and establish an identity of their own. Working as a group under Paniker, the painters and sculptors evolved their work - the painters drew it finer and finer, their drawing turned algebraic, severely notational or calligraphic and well in line with the tradition of indigenous drawing. This exhibition focuses on a selection drawings and prints from the Museum.
My Dream World (1972/1972) by K.RamanujamCholamandal Artists' Village
K. Ramanujam
K. Ramanujam (1941-1973) was a National Scholar at the Government College of Arts and Crafts, Madras with a diploma in Painting during 1962-64. In 1965, he participated in the Common Wealth Arts Festival in London and in 1971 he moved to the Cholamandal Artists Village.
Ramanujam, who took his life at an early age of 32, was disabled physically and was also schizophrenic. His line drawings with a background of ink wash depict a world of fantastic creatures. In the work, he appears always with his consort - a queen of sorts.
Om (1988/1988) by K.S. GopalCholamandal Artists' Village
KS Gopal
KS Gopal (1938-1989) gained his diploma from the Government College of Arts and Crafts, Madras and is one of the founding members of the Cholamandal Artists Village in Madras. In 1987 he received the Tamil Nadu State Akademi award.
Bhagavad Gita has inspired many of his compositions. Gopal was fascinated with the use of Hindu mythological symbols in his work. The motifs comprised of Om, linga, sun, moon, vriksha and triangle, and have been played around in a decorative style.
He focused on the line as an interventionist resulting in unique calligraphic calibration. In this work he has used zinc plate for his engraving.
Banyan Tree (1975/1975) by K.S. GopalCholamandal Artists' Village
Symbols have been his forte but he was equally fascinated with forms of nature.
Due to the paucity of zinc plates for engraving, Gopal has improvised by using cardboard mount boards. An adhesive mixed with French chalk solution is brushed on the board surface to take prints.
The Woman (1971/1971) by A P SanthanarajCholamandal Artists' Village
AP Santhanaraj
AP Santhanaraj (1932-2009) gained a diploma from the Government College of Arts and Crafts, Madras in 1953. In 1954-56 he was on the Government of India scholarship. He has been awarded the Kalai Chammal Award, Tamil Nadu in 1983 and the Kala Rathna by AIFACS, New Delhi in 1997.
Santhanaraj,a senior teacher and painter, influenced a whole generation of artists in the sixties. Though he was also a painter, his forte was line drawing which will serve as a contribution to the Madras Movement. The picture depicts a woman drawn in wiry line.
Mother & Children (2006/2006) by M. SenathipathiCholamandal Artists' Village
M. Senathipathi
M. Senathipathi (born 1939) gained his diploma in 1965 from the government College of Arts and Crafts, Madras and is a life member of the Cholamandal Artists Village, Madras. From 1984-86 he has been a senior fellow at the Department of culture, Government of India. He received a British Council Vistiorship Grant that let him travel to London and other European cities in 1988. In 2008 he was awarded the Kalai Chemmal award by the government of Tamil Nadu.
"Line, contour and rhythm enamored me intensely from the beginning of my artistic career"said Senathipathi In this work, he has used ink on handmade paper, over which broad and bold washes of ink with water create a surface of coarseness which incites a visual sensation.
Ravana (1999/1999) by K.M. AdimoolamCholamandal Artists' Village
KM Adimoolam
KM Adimoolam (1938-2008) gained his post diploma in painting with distinction from the College of Arts and Crafts, Madras in 1971. In 1994, he was elected Eminent Artist by the General Council of the Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi.
Adimoolam is known for his delicate drawings of ink on paper. This depicts Ravana - the Demon King of Sri Lanka.
SK Rajavelu
SK Rajavelu (1941-2015) gained his diploma in Fine Arts from the Government College of Arts and Crafts, Madras in 1964 on the Government of India Cultural Scholarship in KCS Paniker. Later in 1965 he was again award the same scholarship under NS Bendre at MS University, Vadodara. In 1967 he received the National Award by the Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi.
Rajavelu loved line drawings and this is a work depicting women courtesans. This is in tradition with the Madras Movement where line plays an integral part in a work of art.
Lines from the Ramayana (1977/1977) by V. ArnawazCholamandal Artists' Village
V. Arnawaz
V. Arnawaz (1945-1988) in Madras. He gained his diploma from the Government College of Arts and Crafts in 1966 and traveled to USA and Britain at the Invitation of the British Council and the Government of France in 1977.
The drawings in colour on paper are primarily titled 'Lines from the Ramayana'. Influenced by Jagdish Mittal’s book on 'The Andhra paintings of Ramayana' , it helped Arnawaz to develop her style and technique.
She also brought mythology to the present contemporary world.
Lines from the Ramayana (1976/1976) by V. ArnawazCholamandal Artists' Village
This drawing is another one in the series 'Lines from the Ramayana' by 'V. Arnawaz'
Head (1984/1984) by A P PannerselvamCholamandal Artists' Village
AP Pannerselvam
AP Pannerselvam (1939-2016) was a research Scholar at the Delhi College of Art in 1965-67, during the same time he had solo shows in Paris and New Delhi. From 1968-71 he was on a Scholarship at the Ecole National Superieure Des Beaux Arts, Paris and also won the National Award of the Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi.
Pannerselvam is one of India's finest printmakers who made a mark early in his career. This print is a zinc etching on paper and depicts a head.
This print, titled "Dark Head" done on zinc plate, etched on paper
KR Harie
KR Harie (1941-2011) gained his diploma in Applied arts from the government College of Arts and Crafts, Madras in 1966. He exhibited at the ’40 Artists from Madras’ organised by the British Council in 1978. In 1987 he received the Tamil Nadu Ovium Nunkalai Kuzhu Award.
Harie started his career as a painter working with oils on canvas. He later did a series of line drawings on paper and this work belongs to that period.
Untitled artwork by R M Palaniappan (1990/1990) by R M PalaniappanCholamandal Artists' Village
RM Palaniappan
RM Palaniappan (born 1957) gained his diploma in Fine Arts and Industrial Design (Ceramics) from Government College of Arts and Crafts, Madras in 1980-81. He won the National Akademi Award, new Delhi in 1986 and from 1997-2016 he was the regional secretary of the Lalit Kala Akademi in Lucknow and Chennai. In 2009 he received the Raza Foundation Award.
"When you are in motion, like musical notes are, and passing through several elements, forms and colours, only certain element /s or form/s will come to your mind faster than others on an impact of psychological perception of the same; consequently, the descriptive movement reflected on a mirror is a "Celebration" " said by Palaniappan
Gramophone and Bashir (1990/1990) by T M V NamboodiriCholamandal Artists' Village
TMV Namboodiri
TMV Namboodiri (born 1925) gained his diploma in Fine and Commercial Arts from the Government College of Arts and Crafts, Madras in 1954. In 1982 he joined 'Kalakaumudi', the Malayalam illustrated weekly as staff artist; executed cement sculpture 'Modern Family on a Scooter' at Cholamandal.
Namboodiri made his name as a cartoonist and also did large drawings. This particular work depicts the novelist Vaikom Mohammed Bashir riding a cycle and announcing his novel with a loudspeaker.
Deep Forest (1980/1980) by D VenkatapathyCholamandal Artists' Village
D Venkatapathy
D Venkatapathy (born 1935), gained his diploma in 1967 from the Government College of Arts and Crafts, Madras. In 1996 he was honoured as a Veteran Artist of India by AIFACS and in 1998 he was awarded the Kalai Chemmal Award by the Government of Tamil Nadu.
The work 'Deep Forest' depicts dimensions, depth and infinity of space in the dark. Light falling in the deep dark space is created with reflections, variations and textures. Spatial volumes of lines and textures are created with pointillistic technique.
The medium is pen and ink on paper. The artist has used the steel pen and water-proof black ink to create this drawing.
Birds of the Cauveri (2004/2004) by Premalatha SeshadiriCholamandal Artists' Village
Premalatha Seshadiri
Premalatha Seshadiri (born 1947) gained her diploma from the Government College of Arts and Crafts, Madras in 1969. In 1971 she received an award by the Alliance Francaise De Bangalore and was also awarded the Leonardo Prize at the Biennale of Art Museum of Chianciano, Italy in 2011.
The series 'Birds of the Cauveri' was inspired in the late seventies as the result of some years spent in the vicinity of the Cauveri, close to the Ranganthitu Bird sanctuary with close access to this site for inspiration to include bird life in my drawings and paintings. Gradually through abstraction she has reduced these forms to where less is more - a reduction to its essential elements that construct it to guide it to a zen-like character. The series has been worked only upon paper in coloured inks, Chinese and Japanese watercolour sticks and crayons.
