Archer Art Gallery, Ahmedabad opens its door to renowned figurative sculptor KS Radhakrishnan. The new exhibition, titled ‘figuring in, figuring out’ reflects his sculptural explorations in bronze, foregrounding his intimate understanding and re-imagining of the figurative, and his deep empathy with the human experience. These works investigate the nature of our experience: liminal, ambiguous, fluid. The preview will be held on 29th February 2024 at 5:30 PM. The sculptures will be on public display till 20th April 2024.
His bronze sculptures showcase the human ennui. At the centre is the human body – desirous, aspiring, and reaching out, ascending/descending, emerging/immersing, solid yet weightless and transcendent. Always figuring in; figuring out. Radhakrishnan is noted for the archetypal figures of Musui and Maiya, with whom he has worked for decades. Musui was based on a tribal Santhal boy from Santiniketan while Maiya – Musui’s female counterpart – was sculpted from imagination. The two figures morph into a range of personas – Maiya can be a Santiniketan graduate or the saintly Ma Sarada, while Musui can be a rickshaw puller or an imp. The ‘Freehold’ Musuis and Maiyas simply float free from the limitations of gravity.
Radhakrishnan’s series of works are created using tiny interconnected human figures that emerged from the artist’s sympathetic observation of underprivileged migrants in cities, constantly struggling towards a better life. In many sculptures, these interlinked figures became an ephemeral expression of the smoke emerging from a pot or travellers on boats or passing clouds… resonating with the artist’s childhood memories of Kerala. Compassionately concerned with freedom, desire and vitality, Radhakrishnan’s works don’t make statements, instead, they invite the viewers to become participants in a dialogue between sculpture and life itself.
About KS Radhakrishnan
K.S. Radhakrishnan (b.1956) is one of the most notable among the new generation of sculptors who has successfully brought about a definitive resurgence in Indian sculpture. Radhakrishnan was born in Kerala. He took to painting inspired by uncle P.N. Narayanan Kutty and worked till 1973. Later he completed his Bachelor of Fine Arts and Master of Fine Arts in sculpture from Visva Bharti University at Santiniketan. He is a figurative sculptor preferring modeling and bronze casting over new materials. Recharging the age-old sculptural process with a new sensibility thus is the singular challenge he brings to modern Indian sculpture. And this makes him a modernist. His work has found a permanent home in several public collections all over the world.
Image Courtesy – Archer Art Gallery
