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Lot 46

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K Ramanujam
My Dream World

- The limitless universe carefully recorded in mystical orchestrations on paper, doused with imagination, are testament to K Ramanujam’s sensibility to interpret and express the world around him. “The mythopoetic universe of K Ramanujam (1941-1973) appears to be an impenetrable citadel watched over by the peering eyes of demigods-a nocturnal world shielded by “an army of muses” to use the artist’s own expression.” (Roobina Karode, “Into the Moonlight Parade”, Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, online)

Born in 1941, in Chennai, Ramanujam grew up in solitude, retreating to his own inner world. He expressed an inclination towards drawing from a young age and was thus directed to seek training at the School of Arts and Crafts, Madras, where he found a mentor in K C S Paniker. The artist began creating a substantial number of pictures that translated his dreams into dense narratives. He is celebrated for his meticulousness in creating whimsical, mystical, fantastical motifs and creatures amidst which he would often insert himself. His lines were bold, assured, and stripped off of any indecision. In 1964 he joined the Cholamandal Artists’ Village, an artists’ commune initiated by K C S Paniker, where he continued practising until his death.

Ramanujam held Marc Chagall in high regard but he found his most inspirational resources in what he engaged with in Tamil-mythology, palmistry, films, and Chandamama, an illustrated children’s magazine replete with mythological tales, adventure stories, and folklore among others. An important reference that added to Ramanujam’s artistic splendour were temple sculptures and his penchant for minute details. “But far from being architectural iIIustrations, they were charged with a defiant, almost an ungodly wish to liberate the monuments from their earthly moorings, which gave these drawings a qualitative intensity of tempestuous dreams. The temples swarming with numerous, small and gigantic figures with outspread wings literally-yet effectively-suggested mythical lights of templechariots in a moment of taking off.” (Gulam Mohammed Sheikh, “K Ramanujam”, Vrishchik, Year 4, Number 2, June 1973)

As seen in lot 46, he crafted extremely charged surrealist visions that immediately set his artistic language apart from his contemporaries. While line drawings were characteristic of his style, he often also painted in a wash technique where he composed his line drawings within soft cloud-like patterns, keeping the harmony intact, as seen in lot 47. - The limitless universe carefully recorded in mystical orchestrations on paper, doused with imagination, are testament to K Ramanujam’s sensibility to interpret and express the world around him. “The mythopoetic universe of K Ramanujam (1941-1973) appears to be an impenetrable citadel watched over by the peering eyes of demigods-a nocturnal world shielded by “an army of muses” to use the artist’s own expression.” (Roobina Karode, “Into the Moonlig

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Lot 46 of 75

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K Ramanujam
My Dream World
Signed and dated 'K. Ramanujam/ 1973.' (lower right); signed and inscribed 'K. Ramanujam/ Cholamandal/ Madras/ My Dream World' (on the reverse)
1973
Pen and ink on paper
22 x 33 in (55.9 x 83.8 cm)
Category: Painting
Style: Figurative

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Lot 46 of 75

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