Man of steel… and much more! This sculptor, photographer and enamellist was born today

November 12, On This Day

With over six decades of rich experience as a prolific Indian painter, sculptor, enamellist, photographer and an academic researcher, Balan Nambiar was born on November 12, 1937 in Kerala’s Kannapuram, and turned 84 this year.

His most extensive body of work is as a sculptor, and he has worked with mediums from clay to fiberglass reinforced concrete, wood, bronze, mild steel and, from 2000, stainless steel. Many of his works are outdoor sculptures and some are monumental.

Today Bengaluru-based, Nambiar has also extensively studied, photographed and documented hundreds of ritual performances and art forms of the Indian west coast as Teyyam and Bhuta.

He also learned to produce luminous enamels on silver and copper in the studio of his late father-in-law, the Italian artist Paolo De Poli, in Padova, Italy.

A multiple award-winning artist, he has also served as chairman of the Lalit Kala Academi, New Delhi. ‘The Sky is the Limit’ for Indian Oil Corporation, New Delhi, ‘Monument to the Assassinated’ at Goethe-Institut Max Mueller Bhavan, New Delhi, ‘Sculpture for Timken’, TIMKEN, Bangalore, and others. Around 1,800 of his photographs have been acquired by the Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts, New Delhi.

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