Kerala

Kerala finds a place in national artscape

Renu Ramanath

At last, Kerala has found a place in the contemporary art scene of India. For a State just stepping into the 50th year of its existence, getting that long-deserved place of honour in the national art circuit of the country is no mean task. Especially considering that for this national art circuit, which had been more or less Mumbai-centric or Delhi-centric all through the post-Independence years, art just did not exist even south of the Vindhyas for a long time. Not to speak of the western side of the Sahyadri.

For decades after the phenomenon of Raja Ravi Varma, Kerala was virtually the Dark Continent in India 's art map. At the same time, this was quite ironical. Since, this small land locked between the Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea had produced some of the most brilliant of India's visual artists - at all times.

The travelling group exhibition, 'Double Enders,' curated by the Mumbai-based Malayali artist Bose Krishnamachari came as a sharp jolt and an eye-opener to the country's art world. Though this show, which lined up 69 Malayali artists, drew mixed reactions, it revealed the sheer numerical strength of the top-ranking artists hailing from this small State.

During the past couple of decades, Malayali artists have been making a strong presence in the national art scene. Almost all of them were based in Mumbai, Delhi or Baroda, the major 'centres' of art. Down south, Chennai and Bangalore were also considered as 'centres.' But nowhere in Kerala was a 'centre.' So, it was natural for all the artists to migrate.Most of the artists who completed their studies in M.S. University, Baroda; Santiniketan and the J.J. School of Arts, Mumbai, stayed on there afterwards.However, these are all tales of the past. Right now, Kerala has turned out to be the preferred hunting ground of the gallerists from Mumbai and Delhi, and art collectors from almost all over India. The evolution of a professional art gallery such as Kashi Art Gallery based in Fort Kochi has played a major role in the development of Kerala's art scene. So, things are happening in the art scene in the State at different levels. The coming decades would prove significant for the visual arts of the State, which already boast of an established literary and serious film circuit.

(The Hindu, Wednesday, Nov 1, 2006)