Satyendra Kumar’s Forms Enliven the Remenants of Banaras

Meet Satyendra Kumar

Satyendra Kumar is an artist from Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh. Despite hailing from a backward family, with no educational environment, he cultivated a passion for art. After graduating 12th grade, he enrolled in the Fine Arts Department of Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi. He developed the nuances of sculpting simultaneously completing his BFA, MFA and PhD. At present, his work reflects a harmony of tradition and innovation.

Satyendra Kumar’s Art Style

Kumar is fascinated by the temples, ghats, old palaces, and streets of Banaras; a motif he embedded in his paintings and sculptures. He finds his muse in the reflection of sunlight passing through the windows and doors in the streets of Banaras. This illuminating sight evokes the euphoria, which he considers an important part of his sculpture.

Satyendra Kumar considers the landscapes of Banaras truly magical, as he would paint watercolour scenes of the city’s iconic landmarks. Instead of using a drawing pencil, he prefers to create layouts in sculpture using non-uniform mediums like wood and metal. He finds wood and bronze to be harmonious materials for expressing himself. Instead of manoeuvring the direct forms, he amalgamates small and big shapes harmoniously.

During his MFA, Kumar incorporated old wooden planks with unique textures, irregular shapes, and remnants of paint, employing their unique sculptural qualities, into his sculptures, combining them to create distinguished forms. He also used wax strips to create sculptures in metal. The form coupled with direct experience creates a transcendental image. This pattern lies in the artist’s consciousness, creating a special form. This may range from concrete to abstract; real to surreal. The tangible world is populated by form with dramatic intimacy. In such a disarrayed setting, Satyendra Kumar is attracted by things and subjects, such as rivers, ponds, mountains, flowers, plants, birds, animals etc.

Image – Reflection of Banaras, Bronze, (11x10x8 in) Courtesy – Abir Space