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Krishna Shamrao Kulkarni - Artists - Aicon Art 2024

KRISHNA SHAMRAO KULKARNI

Born 1916 in Karnataka, India.
Died 1994.

Working between figuration and abstraction, Kulkarni's art evolved significantly throughout his career. With several solo shows around the globe, Kulkarni absorbed life outside of his home only to return to India after every journey to refine a style authentic to his origins. While the artist heavily embraced the bold, deliberate lines of modernism, he did not conform to stylistic orthodoxy. Instead, Kulkarni experimented with the brush, studying subjects close to home, such as the classic figures of the Ajanta murals, the Chola Bronzes, and miniatures of Kangra. In later years, Picasso's influence holds equal bearing with the forms of traditional Indian folk and tribal art.

Born in Karnataka, K. S. Kulkarni studied at the Sir J.J. School of Art, Bombay. He was also a research scholar at Sir Ratan Tata Trust, Bombay. He had his first solo show in 1945, organized by the All-India Fine Arts and Crafts Society. He founded the world-famous art and culture organization Triveni Kala Sangam in 1948 where he served as the Director of the Art Department till 1968. He was also one of the founding members of the Delhi Shilpi Chakra. Primarily, a figurative artist, he did not create any style of his own, but rather kept painting in various styles excelling in each both craft wise as well as in high aesthetic terms. He was also a master of line and a frugal user of color. His work however compares with the best in contemporary Indian art and is now a part of art history.