Exploring the female body through K. G. Subramanyan's drawings

New Delhi : An exhibition of chronologically-arranged drawings of noted painter and muralist K. G. Subramanyan, displaying over 300 drawings and murals made by the late painter on the female form, opened here at the Art Heritage Gallery on Monday.

Titled "Women Seen and Remembered", the month-long exhibition shows a decade-wise evolution of the woman Subramanyan drew.

For the master of many mediums, the female form was an important subject of his artistic inquiry.

It also gives insights into his career spanning several decades, and the visual grammar evident in other works by him.

The artist worked with drawings, painting, sculpture, and murals, all of which are now highly coveted in the arts space.

In the exhibition, his incomplete, abstract renditions of the human body, show a slow, subtle change in the form, visible to the viewers as they walk through the curation.

Some find Subramanyan's woman, heavily influenced by mythology and folklore, as his search for a female divine form in his work.

The artworks are supplemented by the poems written by the artist on women, that are peppered throughout the exhibition space, completing a picture of the woman in the viewer's mind.

The exhibition, almost resembling a retrospective, shows life-sized photographs of the veteran artist in his studio, and otherwise, and builds up a visual resource on the artist.

Also on exhibition are published works on the varied works of one of India's most sought-after artists, which give a context to his life and works.

He was awarded the Padma Vibushan in 2012, four years before he died in 2016 at the age of 92.

"Arranged chronologically, the works in the exhibition move from the
slumped, domesticated body of the woman of the 1950s to reveal how she
transforms into a self-aware coquette in the 1970s, presenting herself
in her full blown, stark sensuality," a statement from the gallery said.

A gallery spokesperson told IANS that some works of his are on sale as well.

The extensive exhibition spans three galleries in the Triveni Kala Sangam space, and has been mounted by Art Heritage Gallery and The Seagull Foundation for the Arts.

It is open for public viewing till September 9.

(Siddhi Jain can be contacted at siddhi.j@ians.in)