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Artist Details
Ram Kumar
Ram Kumar Born in 1924 in Simla, Ram Kumar was one of India’s foremost modernists. After studying Economics at St. Stephen’s College, Delhi, he pursued painting in Paris under masters like André Lhote and Fernand Léger from 1949 to 1952.
Part of India’s pioneering post-colonial generation, alongside artists like F.N. Souza and S.H. Raza, Ram Kumar sought to blend international modernism with an evolving Indian identity. His art reflected a deep inner journey — moving from the restless energy of city life to the meditative calm of landscapes.
Inspired by the polarity between samsara (worldly life) and nirvana (spiritual release), his work explores cycles of creation, decay, and transcendence. Over time, the architecture of his early cityscapes gave way to luminous visions of river towns like Varanasi, where the earthly and the eternal meet.
Balancing the rigour of structure with a growing sensuality, Ram Kumar’s later paintings celebrate nature’s lush beauty — landscapes experienced not just as places, but as beloved, living presences. His work remains a powerful testament to solitude, memory, and the search for inner harmony.
Rabin MondalBorn in 1932 in Kolkata, Rabin Mondal grew up in a poor government official’s family in the industrial town of Howrah. His early years, marked by isolation from a childhood injury and the stark contrasts of urban poverty, deeply influenced his work. Mondal often painted the grotesque, using bold strokes and dense pigments to express inner turmoil and human struggles.
He was exposed to French modernist art in 1949, an encounter that profoundly impacted his artistic direction. While he was initially influenced by Indian art, particularly the Bengal school, the avant-garde techniques he discovered later enriched his own unique style, incorporating a raw, primitive energy.
Mondal’s works are figurative and powerful, portraying figures whose pensive, yet defiant, faces seem to challenge the viewer. His works often explore universal themes of survival, alienation, and isolation. He has depicted subjects ranging from queens to empresses, fascinated by their solitude despite their status.
Active in the avant-garde community, Mondal’s bold and experimental approach gained him recognition, making him one of India’s leading modern painters. He passed away on July 2, 2019.
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