Untitled (Tribal Woman)

Few know of K.S. Kulkarni’s talent as a sculptor, much of which was in the tradition of his paintings—an expression of primitivism rendered in the modern style. This work, however, is a modernist expression of classical Indian sculpture. The seated figure—perhaps of a Hindu yogi, or the Buddha, or one of his avatars, or Mahavira—is reminiscent of sculptures adorning ancient Indian temples such as the Kailashnath temple at Ellora, or the Buddhist stupa at Sanchi. The classical figure is, however, given elongated limbs, a reductivist profile, and structured, worn-texture to resemble a stone figure.