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A diverse artist who explored many artistic styles and mediums
throughout his career, KG Subramanyan also devoted time annually
to a toy‒making project, often depicting animals and creatures from
a mock fable. He was interested in the craft techniques and folk
styles of India, and usually created these works to coincide with the
Baroda Fine Arts Fair, where such traditions were encouraged and
explored. The meticulous process involved initial drawings tested
in plasticine or clay, followed by a prototype made of wood, which
would be planed, joined, layered and adorned with other materials
such as leather and beads. The toys, both objects of play as well
as signifiers, "...recall the icon which in turn will recall ancient craft
traditions, for the act of making must predate the iconography, the
ritual or fun, to which the objects have contributed over centuries.
Thus making his toys both conspicuously pristine, and mockingly
funny Subramanyan activates his own manifold connections to
artisanal practice." (Geeta Kapur,
K G Subramanyan
, New Delhi:
Lalit Kala Akademi, 1987, p. 7)
30
K G SUBRAMANYAN
(1924‒2016)
Untitled
Initialled in Tamil (under the base)
Wood
Height: 6.5 in (16.51 cm)
Width: 5 in (12.7 cm)
Depth: 3.5 in (8.89 cm)
$ 6,760 ‒ 9,460
Rs 5,00,000 ‒ 7,00,000
PROVENANCE
Sarjan Art Gallery, Vadodara
Private Collection, Mumbai
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