Important Notice

The 1960s marked a pivotal shift in Ram Kumar’s visual vocabulary, his trip to Benaras inspired a unique mixture of Cubism and abstraction. His landscapes began to morph into inexplicable forms, rooted in a sense of hybrid reality. Familiar terrain was now represented by jagged, multi-faceted planes in swathes of colour, forming a synthesis of sites once visited. While the mystic nature of his work may seem daunting, its intent was never to... The 1960s marked a pivotal shift in Ram Kumar’s visual vocabulary, his trip to Benaras inspired a unique mixture of Cubism and abstraction. His landscapes began to morph into inexplicable forms, rooted in a sense of hybrid reality. Familiar terrain was now represented by jagged, multi-faceted planes in swathes of colour, forming a synthesis of sites once visited. While the mystic nature of his work may seem daunting, its intent was never to startle- rather, it creates room for deep reflection, affording the viewer a chance to visit these vague vistas within the recess of the mind. “Ram Kumar has no desire to shock or seduce the eye which makes so much of abstract art slide into the sensational or the decorative. The ascetic streak in his mental make-up will not permit any such indulgence. The sense of quiet that pervades his work invites contemplation, not a gaze. The search for a personal idiom lands many contemporary artists in a private language which bars all strangers entry into their world. Ram Kumar’s work never suffers from a breakdown of communication. Some of his paintings indeed demand a silent communion and, in moments of felicity, we are even able to converse with them” (Sham Lal, “Between Being and Nothingness”, Ram Kumar: A Journey Within, New Delhi: Vadehra Art Gallery, 1996, p. 15)

The crux of Ram Kumar’s artistic trajectory is his intimate connection with nature. His affinity for the same dates back to his childhood spent surrounded by the glorious Himalayan mountains in Simla. It was this intimate relationship with nature that took on a new form as the evolution of his work gained momentum in Benaras in the 1960s. It set him on an introspective path in the search for harmony within himself and through his work. Nature “came both as a release from his past and a return to it... a nostalgic longing for a ‘past’ gone for ever. They also symbolised peace and inner security, as if by returning to them, one can salvage a spark of happiness from the ruins of one’s adulthood... by ‘abstracting’ the image of mountains, he released them from the fixed memory of his childhood and thus eternalised them as something which is part of nature.” (Nirmal Verma, “From Solitude to Salvation,” Ram Kumar: A Journey Within, New Delhi: Vadehra Art Gallery, 1996, p. 26)

The present lot combines Kumar’s discerning ability to capture the essence of places within his deconstructionist abstraction. The fragmented planes, rendered in tones of brown are indicative of natural forms such as fields or rugged mountains, while his masterful brush strokes lend themselves to creating depth and structure. Reflecting on his own works from this period, Kumar states - “I am outside the world that used to be mine. I am experiencing new revelations, losing faith in old patterns which I followed for so many years. Losing is easy but finding a new foothold is difficult. I crave for absolute isolation, far away from these surroundings...Sometimes glimpses of unusual forms, movement of depths, rhythmic lines come to my mind. But they seem only like some fragments - however significant they may appear, they have to be united with something more solid, something difficult to fathom. Some way has to be found out.” (Nirmal Verma, 1996, p. 204).

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