VIVAN SUNDARAM
Akara Modern
1943 -2023
Born in Shimla, Vivan Sundaram - the man of all mediums - painter,
sculptor, and installations is a key figure in a group of contemporary artists
that have created quite an eclectic oeuvre. His studies painting at the Faculty
of Fine Arts in M.A. University of Baroda and later got a degree from Slade
School of Art, London. His art crucially relates to social and political
history, the environment, and to historiography itself. A major part of his
works is also a collaboration with workmen such as carpenters, masons,
stone-cutters, photographers, and filmmakers. Initially, Sundaram’s practice
revolved around historical figurative painting, later experimenting with
diverse and semiotically charged mediums. Inevitably, this led to more
dimensional works. His recent work has incorporated large-scale photographs,
installations, and videos of constructions created from masses of rubbish.
During his career, Sundaram held several shows across globe some of
which includes in some cities of India, London, Paris, Toronto, Amsterdam, New
Yok, and even in the Asia-Pacific Triennial, Brisbane. Sundaram was
instrumental in the establishment of the Safdar Hashmi Memorial Trust (Sahmat)
and the Kasauli Art Centre, organisations that brought together politically
conscious artists, writers, activists, and thinkers in the 1970s and beyond. He
was also the founder and managing trustee of the Sher-Gil Sundaram Arts
Foundation (SSAF) along with his sister, Navina Sundaram. In 2017, five decades
of his work were shown in his first-ever retrospective at Kiran Nadar Museum.
Images
Exhibitions
Follow Unfollow August 26 - September 17 , 2022
India Art Fair 2022 April 28 - May 01 , 2022
India Art Fair 2020 January 30 - February 02 , 2020
India Art Fair 2018 February 09 - February 12 , 2018
Travelling in Two Boats at the Same Time July 15 - August 31 , 2016
Press
