K. C. S. Paniker

1911

Kovalezhi Cheerampathoor Sankaran Paniker is born in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu.

1918

Gives up his college education to take up a job with the Telegraph Department, and later joins the Life Insurance Corporation of India, to support his family after the death of his father.

1923

Begins painting at the age of twelve.

1928

Now seventeen, his work features in Madras Fine Arts Society’s annual show.

1936-40

He is twenty-five when he begins his formal art education at the Government School of Arts, Madras. It is here that Paniker begins his fluid watercolour landscapes, drawing from the Kerala environment.

1941

He is appointed a teacher in his alma-mater.

1944

Paniker establishes the Progressive Painters’ Association in Madras.

1944-53

He experiments with post-Impressionism in the manner of Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin. It is during this period that biblical references to Christ and Lazarus appear in his work. In these paintings, Paniker restricts the use of colour and suspends the form in a monochromic lucidity.

1953-54

His trips to the West make him aware of his position in the ideological struggle between the East and the West, invoking a desire to represent indigenous traditions as an Indian artist. He begins to interpret metaphysical and spiritual knowledge without being deemed traditionalist—instead, invoking global recognition.

1954

Paniker is nominated one of Nine Eminent Artists and made a member of the executive board of Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi. Travels to Paris where he meets Picasso. At a one-man show at India House, London, his work is criticised for lacking a deep ‘Indian-ness’. Is made a fellow of the Royal Society for the Encouuragement of Arts, Manufactures & Commerce, London.

1955

His painting, Life of a Malabar Peasant, highlights the role of the working class in the cultural imagination of India. He begins to reject Western hegemony, increasingly characterised by an enlargement of the head, elongated human figures, people in groups, and a dark palette. They are similar to the artistic style of Jamini Roy in terms of figuration and perspective. He takes charge as vice-principal of the art school.

1956

His painting Lumbini or Life of Buddha marks his departure towards an increasingly philosophical disposition, using iconographic symbols of man in nature as represented by space. In terms of colour, his canvases became light and foggy with pinkish pigments.

1957

Is appointed principal of the Government School of Arts upon the retirement of D. P. Roy Chowdhury. His works are part of the national exhibition, Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi. He attempts to compose and mould figures in the style of Ajanta frescos in Blessed are the Peace-makers as part of his experimentation with the mural and sculptural traditions of India.

1958-59

Introduces figures for the first time into his geometricalised canvas.

1961

Participated in the VI Biennale de Sao Paulo, Brazil.

1962

Upgrades Government ‘School’ of Arts and Crafts to Government ‘College’ of Arts and Crafts, Madras.

1963

Represents the Indian delegation as a member at the World Art Congress, New York. Travel across America and holds discussions with artists as a guest of its State Department. Uses elements of Malayali script with diagrams, following Paul Klee, marking the onset of his abstract visual discourse.

1963 onwards

Begins his Words and Symbols series, using scriptural elements, including phrases and diagrams derived from scientific propositions or tantric diagrams such as the Hindu yantra (contraption). During this time, he understood his lines to be representative of words and symbols, synchronising the alphabet with the pictorial image. His works henceforth carry these symbols. Participates in the Tokyo International Exhibition, Japan Forms the Artists’ Handicrafts Association.

1965

Participates in the Festival Hall Exhibition, London.

1966

Establishes and nurtures Cholamandal Artists’ Village, just outside Madras, to bring together the practices of art and craft and provide an alternative, self-dependent source of income for artists, as well as to create a new community practice.

1967

Participates in Venice Biennale, Italy. Wins the national award of the Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi. Retires from the Government College of Arts and Crafts, Madras.

1968

Participates in the first International Triennale, New Delhi.

1970

Participates in the second International Triennale, New Delhi.

1976

Creates a work especially for an exhibition organised by the Indian Pugwash Society that is viewed by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Participates in the third International Triennale, New Delhi. Is elected fellow of Lalit Kala Akademi.

1977

Passes away in Madras on January 15.

2008

Is part of the ‘Modern India’ exhibition organised by Institute Valencià d’Art Modern and Casa Asia, in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture at Valencia, Spain. Is featured in DAG’s ground-breaking ‘Madras Modern: Regionalism and Identity’ exhibition featuring artists associated with the Madras School of Art and Cholamandal Artists’ Village.