K.G. Subramanyan is among the few artists who have explored the possibilities of modern art from a different perspective, giving new dimensions to the human figure by making them appear more as characters from various myths and traditional narratives, populating a composition quite the contrary. As an artist he is extraordinarily versatile, cherishing the facility to work in diverse media, sizes, and techniques over a stylistic conformity to a single medium, genre, size, technique, and manner of visualization.

A prolific writer, scholar, teacher and art historian, Subramanyan uses his in-depth knowledge of various artistic traditions to create fantastical images of wit and eroticism that are universal in their appeal, yet coupled with iconic symbols drawn from Indian legends and folklore. Even in his written works, the exploration of art as a language or means of communication is a recurring theme.

Born on 15 February, 1924, in Kerala, Subramanyan studied under the tutelage of Benode Behari Mukherjee, Nandalal Bose and Ramkinkar Baij at Santiniketan. He graduated from Kala Bhavan, Visva Bharati University, there in 1948 after receiving his Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from the Presidency College in Chennai. In 1955, he received a British Council Research Fellowship to the Slade School of Art at the University of London. Since his graduation, Subramanyan’s work has been exhibited in over fifty solo shows, the most recent including those presented by Seagull Foundation for the Arts in collaboration with Nandan Gallery at Kala Bhavana, Kolkata, in 2009; ‘The Painted Platters’ at the Guild Art Gallery, Mumbai, in 2007; and ‘The Magic of Making’ at the Seagull Arts and Media Resource Centre, Kolkata, and Rabindra Bhavan, Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi, also in 2007.

Subramanyan lives and works in Baroda.