KASARAGOD: The narrow hall of the Kanhangad Lalithakala Akademi Art Gallery is awash with images of a man with a handlebar moustache and white hair. From caricatures to abstract art to photographs, 76 works depicting acclaimed sculptor Kanayi Kunhiraman are on display at the ‘Ore Oru Kanayi’ exhibition, being organised by the artists’ collective Chithrakar Kerala. Among the works is a newspaper clip, published in 1957, of Kanayi as a student of the Government College of Fine Arts, in erstwhile Madras (now Chennai), contributing to a sculptor on the college premises.
Many of the works show Kanayi with his creations, the most popular of which is the Yakshi at Malampuzha dam in Palakkad. “To put out a nude sculpture in a public place 50 years ago required a lot of revolutionary thought and courage. His depiction of the yakshi helped alter the way Kerala sees and appreciates art. I am privileged to be able to contribute a painting to the exhibition,” said Palakkad-based Remanan Vasudevan.
Some of the notable contributors include former Lalithakala Akademi chairman Nemom Pushparaj and former secretaries N Balamuralikrishna and Ponniam Chandran. There are also works by Mavelikara Fine Arts College principal Manoj Vyloor, Karakkamandapam Vijayakumar, Sunil Ashokapuram, Sreeja Pallam, and P G Sreenivasan, and Mathrubhumi chief artists K Shareef and Pradeep Kumar.
Fittingly, the exhibition is being hosted in an art gallery that Kanayi himself helped establish during his tenure as chairman of the Lalithakala Akademi. Inaugurated on February 28, the show has been seeing a steady number of visitors. It will run till March 8.
Rajendran Pullur, the curator, said that this is the first time in the state that so many artists have come together to pay tribute to an artist. “At 88, Kanayi has been working on a sculpture at the Kasaragod civil station to honour endosulfan victims.
But he recently suffered a fall and has not been keeping well. We thought of this small gesture to bolster his spirits,” Rajendran said. Chithrakar Kerala visited Kanayi at his home in Kanhangad and showed him the works. “He was very happy to see them,” Rajendran said.
Kanayi is one of Kasaragod’s greatest gifts to the state and the country, he added. Many artists are also of the opinion that being the recipient of several state awards, he is yet to be recognised by the Union government, despite his contributions, spanning over 50 years, to elevating art and culture.
The making of Kanayi
Born on July 15, 1937, at Kuttamath in Kasaragod district, Kanayi Kunhiraman initially studied painting at the Cholamandal Artists’ Village
Mentored by renowned artist K C S Paniker, he soon realised his calling was sculpting
Kanayi trained under Prof Devi Prasad Roy Chowdhury and started working carving tin sheets
He secured a diploma in sculpture with honors from the Government College of Fine Arts, Chennai, in 1960
He completed his advanced studies at the Slade School of Fine Art, London, in 1965
His most notable works include Yakshi at Malampuzha dam and Sagarakanyaka at Shankumukham beach