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Anupam Sud
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"My print images can never convert into painterly images for the canvas, as the working body itself rebels. When images enter my mind, I see textures that belong either to etching or to painting. I see no easy conversions as the basic temperament of each process varies and so do ways of arriving at the end result."
Anupam Sud was born in Hoshiarpur in Punjab in 1944. She studied at the College of Art, New Delhi in 1967 and in...
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"My print images can never convert into painterly images for the canvas, as the working body itself rebels. When images enter my mind, I see textures that belong either to etching or to painting. I see no easy conversions as the basic temperament of each process varies and so do ways of arriving at the end result."
Anupam Sud was born in Hoshiarpur in Punjab in 1944. She studied at the College of Art, New Delhi in 1967 and in 1971-72 studied print-making at the Slade School, London, under a British Council scholarship. Working mainly with intaglio prints, Sud fuses her knowledge of different intaglio processes with lithography and screen-printing. Her zinc plates breathe with a life, now suggesting the contours of a sculpture, now hinting at the warmth of oils. But at all times restraint seems to be the keynote of her work. While her sympathies and concerns are often feminist, a recurring theme in her work is the common human predicament. Her subjects are often introspective and fatalistic - existing in a world that is falling apart.
She acknowledges many influences: her father who had a love for bodybuilding, detective stories, Punjabi theatre, and her mother who appreciated classical music and read the Upanishads. She also grew as an artist under the guidance of Somnath Hore in Delhi, whose work she closely related to.
More metaphorical than direct, her work is different from that of traditional printmakers in that she does not rely on the monochromatic quality, inherent in this medium, to make a statement.
Anupam's work has evolved in phases. From the rather architectural forms, limbs and human figures in the mid 1970s to largely feminist subjects in the late 1970s.
As one of the founder members of GROUP 8 (1968), Anupam, with her printmaker colleagues, worked through this association to promote and sustain printmaking as an independent, expressive art form.
Her work has been widely exhibited and appreciated. Apart from over a dozen solo shows all over the world, she has participated in many group exhibitions in cities in the US, UK, Italy, Korea, Switzerland and other countries. She has won numerous national and international awards for her excellence in printmaking. She has also conducted workshops in Canada and Japan.
She lives and works in New Delhi.
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Born
January 15, 1944
Hoshiarpur, Punjab
Education
1990 Study Tour of USA under CICA Fellowship.
1971-72 Print MAking at Slade School ,London(British Council Scholarship).
1963-67 Diploma(Fine Arts),College of Art ,New Delhi.
Exhibitions
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2011 'Preparatory Assertions - Notes...
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2011 'Preparatory Assertions - Notes from Sketch Books', Latitude 28, New Delhi
2010 'The Other Self', presented by Art Heritage, New Delhi at Shridharani Gallery, New Delhi
2007 'Anupam Sud: A Retrospective', Palette Art Gallery, New Delhi
1997 Sakshi Gallery, Mumbai
1996 Art Heritage, New Delhi and Pusan, Korea
1995 'Four Artists' Cymroza Art Gallery, Mumbai
1994 UG Gallery, New Delhi and Cymroza Art Gallery, Mumbai
1992 Chitrakoot Art Gallery, Kolkata
1991 World Bank Art Society, Washington DC.
1989 Cymroza Art Gallery, Mumbai
1988 Vithi Gallery, Baroda
1967,69 New Delhi
Selected Group Exhibitions
2013-14 'Forgotten Figures', Aicon Gallery, New York
2011 'Masters Ltd: Limited Editions', Gallery Beyond, Mumbai
2011 'Melange', The Harrington Street Arts Centre, Kolkata
2010 'Body as Vessel', Art Alive Gallery, New Delhi
2009 'Mark of Masters -2', Art and Soul, Mumbai
2009 'The Body as Vessel', Art Alive, New Delhi
2003 'Of Memories, Dreams, Reveries', Anant Art Gallery, New Delhi
2001 'Palette 2001', Palette Art Gallery, New Delhi
2001 'The Human Factor', The Guild, Mumbai
1998 3 Person show at Taunsstein, Germany and Guild Art Gallery, Mumbai
1998 Ashraya in Sharjan, Dubai
1997 'Indian Contemporary Art, Post Independence', Exhibition organised by Vadhera Art Gallery, New Delhi
1997 'A Tide of High Spirts', Triveni Kala Sangam, New Delhi
1997 ''Women Artists of India': A Celebration of Independence', Mills College Art Gallery, Oakland, U.S.A
1997 'Colours of Independence', National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi
1996 'Contemporary Indian Paintings : from the Chester & Dravida Herwitz Collection, Part II, Sotheby's Auction, New York
1995 Back to the future 1989 - 2005, Gallery Espace, New Delhi
1995 '21 Artists', Group Show at All India Fine Arts and Crafts Society (AIFACS), New Delhi
1995 15 Women Artists, National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), New Delhi
1994 Art Heritage,New Delhi.
1994 LTG Gallery, New Delhi.
c1993 'Reflections & Images', Organized by Vadhera Art Gallery at Vadhera Art Gallery, New Delhi and Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai
1985 'Indian Printmaking Today', Mumbai
1977 'Pictorial Space', Rabindra Bhavan, Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi.
Participations
2013 'The Naked and the Nude: The Body in Indian Modern Art', Delhi Art Gallery, New Delhi
2011 'Ethos V: Indian Art Through the Lens of History (1900 to 1980), Indigo Blue Art, Singapore
2011 'Red', Palette Art Gallery, New Delhi
2010 'Art Celebrates 2010: Sports and the City', represented by Gallery Art Motif at Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi to coincide with the hosting of the Commonwealth Games
2010 'Contemporary Printmaking In India', presented by Priyasri Art Gallery, Mumbai at Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai; Priyasri Art Gallery, Mumbai
2007 'Harmony Show', Nehru Centre, Mumbai
1986 International Biennale of Plastic Arts,Algiers
1986 8th International Print Triennale,G.D.R
1986 Inter-Asian Biennale Ankara, Turkey.
1983 'India in Druck', Royal Tropical Institute, Amsterdam
1981 Asian Art Exhibition, Bangaladesh
1979-81 IV,V Biennale, Valparasio, Chile
1975,78 III,IV International Triennale, Rabindra Bhavan, Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi.
1974 Florence Biennale.
1973 National Exhibition, Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi.
1973 Ljubljana Biennale, Yugoslavia.
Honours and Awards
1996 Award from 'Adharshila', A Group of Journalists, Writers and Artists,...
1996 Award from 'Adharshila', A Group of Journalists, Writers and Artists, New Delhi
1995 International Print Biennale, Bharat Bhawan,Bhopal
1995 President of India's Silver Plaque of 65th and 66th All India Annual Art Exhibition, All India Fine Arts and Crafts Society (AIFACS), Special Award, New Delhi
1994 Certificate at Egyptian International Print Biennale
1990 Study Tour of USA under Centre for International Contemporary Arts (CICA) Fellowship.
1980,84 Award Sahitya Kala Parishad,
1968 Founder Member,'Group B'.
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You began by learning painting, but you switched over to print making
soon after. Why?
Printmaking is a very individualistic and challenging medium. It is
physically demanding too. I studied printmaking at the Slade School, London
and since then I have been completely fascinated by it. Many of my recent
works are multi-media prints where I have combined the etched image with
lithographic or...
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You began by learning painting, but you switched over to print making
soon after. Why?
Printmaking is a very individualistic and challenging medium. It is
physically demanding too. I studied printmaking at the Slade School, London
and since then I have been completely fascinated by it. Many of my recent
works are multi-media prints where I have combined the etched image with
lithographic or silk-screened images. My print images can never convert into
painterly images for the canvas, as the working body itself rebels. When
images enter my mind, I see textures that belong either to an etching or to
a painting.
You mention that printmaking is physically challenging. / Why do you say that Print Making is physically challenging?
It has had its physical effects. There is the growing eyestrain and my
vision has weakened due to concentrated effort of working on a plate.
What is the process of print making like?
Drawing is the backbone of my work. I draw on a zinc plate with a
pointed tool, delineating my characters. Upon that, I etch out the
gradations of tones, and the figures. I have used the intaglio process in
all its variations, etching, dry point, combining it with the viscosity
process and wiping technology. This has helped me layer and texture my work
with a range of effects.
Nude forms have been the recurrent metaphors in your prints.
Yes, I reject all decorations, that's why I reject clothing on my
figures. The decorative element is absent in my work. It is the stark truth. I
also don't do decorations as it takes away the strength of the character. I enjoy painting taut human bodies.
With drawing, the journey of the mind begins and it webs stories around the
theme that demand space to accommodate the monumental scale of the
characters. I etch the male and female bodies in their stark nakedness ---
minus all gloss. I often darken the entire field and then reclaim the whites
in a painstaking way.
What kind of changes have you seen in your work over the years?
Oh, it has changed drastically. In the mid-1970s, architectural forms
and human figures caught in a twilight world dominated my work. Then, there
was a phase when I was preoccupied with the feminist point of view. I placed
women in positions of deprivation and exploitation. Behind them, you could
see the urban Indian city in a state of decay.
I moved on to themes like ambition, manipulation and power struggle in my
later works. I have also explored themes of powerlessness, temptation,
human fallibility and trappings, the masked existence of urban people, and
the inertia of government structures.
What have your inspirations been?
I work with a social and political consciousness. The past artistic
traditions and the cultural dynamics that prevail in the Indian context also
affect my work.
I mingle historic, religious and mythical references with current concerns
and realizations. For instance, I have used the Christian theme of' original
sin' that confirms human fallibility or woman as temptress. Or take the
'Game Series', which provides alternating views of exploitative situations,
where the man and the woman, both in different contexts, are shown in
manipulative moods. The work is bordered with hunting scenes drawn from
books on history and mythology, emphasizing the eternal continuity of the
theme, only that the players have changed.
Then there are people who have influenced me. My parents -- my father, who
loved body building, read detective stories and loved Punjabi theatre and my mother who adored classical music and read the Upanishads (scriptures that highlight the spiritual content of the Vedic text). My mentor and teacher, Jagmohan Chopra and artist Somnath Hore, whose work I closely relate to.
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