KOCHI: Colours fascinated him. He meditated on them with spiritual fervour. His feelings, moods, philosophies, and ideologies — he expressed them all through colours. He sought nirvana in them.
Achuthan Kudallur, one of India’s foremost abstract artists, has left behind a remarkable legacy, a slice of which is currently on display at the Durbar Hall Art Gallery in Kochi as part of a retrospective organised by the Kerala Lalithakala Akademi and Ashvita’s Art Gallery, Chennai.
“He was a self-taught artist who spoke in a language of colours,” says Ashvin Rajagopalan, co-founder of Ashvita’s. This focus on colours inspired the retrospective’s title, ‘Achuthan Kudallur: The Memory of Colour’.
“Initially, he used lines and figurative drawings to express himself,” Ashvin adds. “But they were not as realistic as one would expect. Instead, they were sophisticated, mature works with elements of cubism and other artistic styles. However, it was in the 1980s that he began abstract painting and embraced vivid colours. That was when he truly found himself, and for the next 40 years, he continued with abstract works and the study of colours.”
Achuthan, who hailed from Kudallur in Palakkad district, had periods of just one or two hues. In his ‘Red and Black’ series, for example, he used thick, stark black lines to delineate shapes on a red canvas. Yet no particular emotion or feeling was attached to any colour.
“His truly abstract works, which did not have any particular narrative style, were his way of communicating with the world,” Ashvin notes.
Achuthan followed the Madras School of Art — a modern art movement that flourished in the 60s and 80s. He evolved as one of India’s leading abstract artists despite no formal training in fine arts.
His primary companions in his work were the base colours: red, blue, yellow, green, white, and black. “Colours, however, are something that he explored later. His beginnings were with words,” says Murali Cheeroth, chairperson of the Kerala Lalithakala Akademi.
Achuthan entered the Malayali psyche and local art movements through his writings. “He wrote extensively for Malayalam literary magazines, mostly fiction. From his village Kudallur, by the Bharathapuzha, he explored innumerable subjects. He shared a long friendship with M T [Vasudevan Nair],” Murali recalls.
Art lovers highlights thart Achuthan, who passed away in 2022, has left behind a treasure trove. The pieces in this retrospective range from his early works to his renowned works from the early 21st century. Following shows in Chennai and New York, this is the third and largest retrospective that’s on display in Kochi.
“He knew colours unlike anyone I know,” says Murali. “He kept reinventing himself as an artist. Constantly dissatisfied with his own works, striving to improve them. This is one reason why many of his works became public only after his death,” Murali adds.
Achuthan’s artistic style, distinct from the narrative formats that evolved in Kerala, has been an inspirational figure in art circles. A bachelor throughout his life, art was his constant companion. “He rejected every physical or corporeal aspect of life, reaching a spiritual plane in art where he believed meaning lay only in colours,” says Murali.
“He went beyond the human thought process, beyond the capacity of language or narrative. Though his early works did contain some narrative elements, in his later years, it was just him, his brush, and the colours.”
Murali believes that Achuthan deserves a museum in Kerala, where his works could inspire future artists to push the boundaries of reality.
For now, his memories – in vibrant hues – glow at Durbar Hall.
The exhibition concludes on November 11.