Kovalezhi Cheeramputhoor Sankara Paniker (31 May 1911 – 16 January 1977) was an Indian metaphysical and abstract painter from

Malabar District Malabar District, also known as Malayalam District, was an administrative district on the southwestern Malabar Coast of Bombay Presidency (1792-1800) and Madras Presidency (1800-1947) in British India, and independent India's Madras State (19 ...

. He interpreted the country's age-old metaphysical and spiritual knowledge in the 1960s, when

Indian art Indian art consists of a variety of art forms, including painting, sculpture, pottery, and textile arts such as woven silk. Geographically, it spans the entire Indian subcontinent, including what is now India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, N ...

was under the influence of the Western painters. "That was the time when a few Indian artists were trying to break out of this Western influence and establish an idiom and identity of their own," he said. In 1976, he was awarded the highest award of the

Lalit Kala Akademi The Lalit Kala Akademi or National Academy of Art (LKA) is India's national academy of fine arts. It is an autonomous organisation, established in New Delhi in 1954 by Government of India to promote and propagate understanding of Indian art, i ...

, India's National Academy of Art, the Fellow of the Lalit Kala Akademi for lifetime contribution.

Early life and education

Born in

malabar Malabar may refer to the following: People * Malabars, people originating from the Malabar region of India * Malbars or Malabars, people of Tamil origin in Réunion Places * Malabar Coast, or Malabar, a region of the southwestern shoreline o ...

on 31 May 1911, Paniker received his education in present-day

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

and later in

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

.K. C. S. Paniker Biography

Cholamandal Artists' Village Cholamandal Artists' Village is an artists' commune in Chennai, India. Established in 1966, it is the largest artists' commune in India. The community is located in the southern coastal neighborhood of Injambakkam. Its artists are credited for t ...

website The lush green village where Paniker lived influenced the colourful landscapes of his early years. The bright colours stayed in his paintings, even though he moved away from landscapes and onto other subject matters. A virtual child prodigy, Paniker began painting landscapes when he was 12. By the age of 17, he was exhibiting at the

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

Fine Arts Society's annual shows. In 1928, he gave up college education to take up a job at the Indian Telegraph Department to support his family after the death of his father. At the age of 25 he joined the

Government School of Arts and Crafts, Chennai The Government College of Fine Arts (initially known as the Madras School of Art) in Chennai is the oldest art institution in India. The institution was established in 1850 by surgeon Alexander Hunter as a private art school. In 1852, after be ...

(1936–40). And also studied in

Madras Christian College Madras Christian College (MCC) is a liberal arts and sciences college in Chennai, India. Founded in 1837, MCC is one of Asia's oldest extant colleges. The college is affiliated to the University of Madras but functions as an autonomous institu ...

Career

Since 1941, Paniker has been holding one man shows in Chennai and

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

. He founded the Progressive Painters’ Association (P.P.A), in Chennai in 1944. In 1954 he got his first international exposure when he held exhibitions at

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. He became the principal of the

Government College of Fine Arts, Chennai The Government College of Fine Arts (initially known as the Madras School of Art) in Chennai is the oldest art institution in India. The institution was established in 1850 by surgeon Alexander Hunter as a private art school. In 1852, after be ...

, in 1957, and in 1966 formed the

, 9 km from

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

, with his students and a few fellow artists. The exhibitions abroad and his exposure to abstract artists like

Salvador Dalí Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquess of Dalí of Púbol (; ; ; 11 May 190423 January 1989) was a Spanish Surrealism, surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, and the striking and bizarr ...

had a major influence on his art. "They hark back to the weird, but spiritually uplifting figurative exaggerations of ancient Indian painting and sculpture," Paniker said. The colours he used were bright and sunny, as are colors in the paintings of the

Impressionist Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

s. Somewhere down the line, Paniker moved on to use

calligraphy Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "t ...

and symbols to project a state of metaphysical abstraction. KCS Paniker died in Madras at the age 66 on 16 January 1977.

Legacy

KCS Paniker is considered as a leading figure in the Madras Art Movement. He is the founder of

References

External links

"KCS Paniker: The Rhythm of Symbols, a documentary on Paniker's works"

Cholamandal Artists' Village, Official website

Primary source for this page

"Detailed site on K.C.S Paniker"
* , ''

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Paniker, K. C. S. 1911 births 1977 deaths People from Coimbatore Painters from Kerala Indian art educators Fellows of the Lalit Kala Akademi Government College of Fine Arts, Chennai alumni 20th-century Indian painters University of Madras alumni Indian male painters Painters from Tamil Nadu 20th-century Indian male artists