Ram Kumar (India, 1924-2018)


Untitled Signed 'Ram Kumar' in Devanagari upper left and signed and dated 'Ram Kumar/69' on reverseOil on canvas63.5 x 91cm (25 x 35 13/16in).
|Provenance:Private Collection, Dubai;Sotheby's, Indian Art, 2 May 2008, Lot 39;Private Collection, Germany.In the 1960s Ram Kumar dispensed with figuration and transitioned to far more abstracted landscapes. As noted by Hoskote, "...Kumar addressed himself to the formal aberrations of mismatched planes, jamming the horizontal perspective against top views inspired by site-mapping and aerial photography, and locking the muddy impasto-built riverbank constructions into a Cubist geometrical analysis. Gradually, the architecture drained away from his canvases: society itself passed from his concerns." (R. Hoskote, 'Parts of a World: Reflections on the Art of Ram Kumar', Ram Kumar Recent Works, Saffronart and Pundole Art Gallery exhibition catalogue, 2002, p. 6)In 1960, Ram Kumar traveled to the pilgrimage center of Varanasi, now considered a pivotal moment in the artist's life and career. Previously dedicated to figuration - most often stark angular depictions of India's disenfranchised and marginal classes - after this trip Kumar turned to focus his creative energy on increasingly abstracted landscapes. This push away from the figural has been celebrated as a new moment in his artistic career, inaugurating an era of darkly nuanced artistry. "By banishing the figure from his kingdom of shadows, Ram Kumar was able to emphasise the nullification of humanity, and to deploy architecture and landscape as metaphors articulating cultural and psychological fragmentation." (R. Hoskote, Ram Kumar, A Journey Within, New Delhi, 1996, p. 37) This works from 1969 straddles two quintessential Ram Kumar periods. It contains the structured cubist townscape of his earlier Banaras period but rather than utilising a solely muted colour palette, as was typical, it shows Ram Kumar's progression towards colour. The deep terracotta sky and masterful cobolt and turquoise accents are a nod to his later entirely abstracted works in which he would employ these same colours. This important work is an essential addition to any discerning collection of Ram Kumar.