A. Ramachandran | |
|---|---|
 Ramachandran in 2012 | |
| Honorary Chairman of Kerala Lalithakala Akademi | |
| In office 1991–? | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Achutan Ramachandran Nair 1935 (1935) |
| Died | (aged 89) New Delhi,NCT of Delhi, India |
| Citizenship | Indian |
| Nationality | Malayali |
| Spouse | Tan Yuan Chameli |
| Relations | Tan Yun-Shan (father-in-law) |
| Residence(s) | New Delhi, India |
| Education | MA (inMalayalam literature) PhD (inKerala mural painting) |
| Alma mater | Kala Bhavan |
| Profession | Painter |
| Awards |  Padma BhushanNoma Concours (twice) |
Achutan Ramachandran Nair (1935 – 10 February 2024) was an Indian painter. He was born inAttingal,Kerala. In 2002 he was elected aFellow of the Lalit Kala Akademi. In 2005 he was awarded thePadma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian honour, for outstanding service to the nation.[1] In 2013 he was conferred with anhonorary doctorate byMahatma Gandhi University, Kerala.[2]
In 1957, he obtained his master's degree in Malayalam literature, but art had remained a continuing interest since childhood. He joinedKala Bhavan,Santiniketan and completed his education in art in 1961, studying under masters likeRamkinkar Baij, andBenode Behari Mukherjee.[3] Between 1961 and 1964 he worked on his doctoral thesis onKerala mural painting. By the mid 1960s he had moved to Delhi, and in 1965 he joinedJamia Millia Islamia as a lecturer in art education. Later he became a professor in the same department, and remained attached to the university until his voluntary retirement in 1992.
In 1991, he was appointed honorary chairman ofKerala Lalithakala Akademi. In 1993 Ramachandran and art historian/conservator Rupika Chawla mounted an exhibition at the National Museum in New Delhi, as part of a critical reassessment ofRaja Ravi Varma’s role in Indian art. The exhibition was organised jointly by the National Museum, Department of Culture, Government of India, Department of Cultural Affairs, Government of Kerala, Kerala Lalithakala Akademi, and the National Museum Institute. In 1994 Ramachandran received Raja Ravi Varma Puraskaram from the Government of Kerala. In 2000 he received Gagan-Abani Puraskar from his alma mater, Visva Bharati University, Santiniketan. In 2001 he received Manaviyam Award from Manaviyam Cultural Mission, Government of Kerala. In 2002 he was elected a Fellow of the Lalit Kala Akademi. In 2003 he received the Raja Ravi Varma Puraskaram from the Government of Kerala. In 2005 he was awarded thePadma Bhushan. Also in 2005 he was named Professor Emeritus atJamia Millia Islamia University. In 2013 he was conferred an Honorary Doctor of Letters by Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam, for his contributions to art and art education in India.
In October 2025 the A. Ramachandran Museum was inaugurated at the Sree Narayana Guru Cultural Complex inKollam,Kerala.
Ramachandran lived and worked inNew Delhi. He married artist Tan Yuan Chameli, daughter ofTan Yun-Shan, in 1967. Their two children were raised and educated in New Delhi. Ramachandran died on 10 February 2024, at the age of 89.[4]
Initially, Ramachandran painted in an expressionist style which poignantly reflected the angst of urban life. The paintings were large, akin to murals, and comprised powerful figuration. By the 1980s however, Ramachandran's work underwent a sea-change. Urban reality was no longer a preoccupation. A tribal community in Rajasthan with its vibrant ethos gripped his imagination. Simultaneously, the colours and forms of the murals in the Kerala temples began to influence his mode of expression. Myths became a great resource for him. The first in this new style was ‘Yayati’, a retelling of this story from the Indian epic Mahabharata. It was conceived as the inner shrine of a Kerala temple, with thirteen bronze sculptures surrounded on three sides by painted murals, 60 by 8 feet in total size.
As a painter, his strong command over lines, colours and forms create an exciting visual drama. Ramachandran's canvases are vibrant with a sense of teeming, burgeoning life. The artist's quirky sense of irony imbues his paintings with a piquancy and feeling of new discoveries. And, as one who considered Ramkinkar Baij as his guru, Ramachandran has created sculptures which are even more intriguing in formal terms than his paintings.
In 1963 Ramachandran participated in a group showing in New Delhi. In 1966 Ramachandran’s first solo exhibition was held at the Kumar Gallery, New Delhi. From 1967 through 1970 there were four more solo exhibitions. During those and subsequent years his works were featured in numerous group exhibitions in India, and some overseas. In 1969 and 1973 he received a National Award for painting from the Ministry of Culture, Government of India.
In 1975 and again in 1977 a one-man show of Ramachandran’s works was held in New Delhi. In 1976 he visited USSR and Poland withGeeta Kapur andBhupen Khakhar on a cultural exchange programme.
In 1977 he was commissioned to do a mural and sculpture by the Maurya Sheraton Hotel, New Delhi. The resulting work was “Vision of War”: the mural 12 by 5 feet, the sculpture of Asoka bronze and zinc plates mounted on mirror, 6 feet tall.
In 1978 a retrospective exhibition showcasing Ramachandran’s 13 years of work in New Delhi was organised by the Kumar Gallery. In 1979 his works were featured in the Silver Jubilee Exhibition of Sculptures in New Delhi, as well as in exhibitions in Bombay, Madras and Calcutta. Ramachandran created a limited-edition portfolio of etchings inspired by theUrdu writings of Pakistani writerSaadat Hasan Manto, exhibited at the Prithvi Theater, Mumbai.
In 1980 he participated in the Silver Jubilee exhibition of miniature paintings in New Delhi, Bombay, Madras and Calcutta. In 1981 Ramachandran created a series of miniature paintings in tempera on Japanese gold boards, and held ‘Puppet Theatre, an exhibition of paints and drawings based on a novel byAnwar Sajjad, at the Dhoomimal Gallery in New Delhi. Also in 1981 he participated in the ‘Indian Painting Today’ exhibition in Mumbai and at Asian Art in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Ramachandran designed six sets of commemoration stamps for the Government of India, including to celebrate the Silver Jubilee of the Bureau of Indian Standards (1972), Mahatma Gandhi’s Dandi March (1980), and the Asian Games (1982).
In 1982 Ramachandran participated in the Contemporary Indian Art exhibition in London, and the ‘India, Myth and Reality’ exhibition that followed. Also that year he did ‘Modern Indian Painting’, marking the visit of the Prime Minister of India to Washington DC. He participated in the inaugural exhibition of Bharat Bhavan, Bhopal, and in the ‘Indiche Kunst Heute’ exhibition in Germany. In 1983 a retrospective exhibition of 18 years of Ramachandran’s paintings, sculptures, drawings, miniatures and graphics was held at the Jehangir Art Gallery in Bombay. His works were featured in the ‘India in Print’ show in Amsterdam, and in the Asian Art exhibition in Dhaka. In 1984 he created ‘Water Bodies’, a set of eight ceramic pieces. From 1984-86 Ramachandran worked on ‘Yayati’, a large mural (60 feet by 8 feet) accompanied by 13 bronze sculptures that was exhibited at the Shridharani Gallery in New Delhi in 1986.
In 1985-87 Ramachandran participated in the International Festival of Arts, Cagnes-sur-Mer, France; the ‘Contemporary Indian Painting’ exhibition at the Frankfurt Book Fair; the Havana Biennale, Cuba; and the Coup de Cœur exhibition in Geneva. In 1989 he participated in ‘Nature’, an exhibition in New Delhi commemorating the birth centenary of PanditJawaharlal Nehru. From 1989-91 his works featured in the exhibitions ‘Art for Cry’, ‘Art Mosaic’ and ‘Award Winners of the National Exhibitions of Art, 1955-1990’.
In 1991, 'Urvashi, Pururavas and the Lotus Pond', an exhibition of Ramachandran's paintings, watercolours, drawings and sculptures was held at the Shridharani Gallery, New Delhi. In 1994-95 the exhibition 'Reality in Search of Myth' was held in Calcutta, Bangalore, Madras, Bombay and New Delhi. In 1994 Ramachandran was commissioned by the Government of India to create the Rajiv Gandhi Memorial at Sri Perumbudur, Tamil Nadu. In 1996 'The Mythical Traveller, Journeys into the Unknown' solo show was held at the ARKS Gallery in London, England. In 1997, 'The Lotus Pond at Obeshwar', an exhibition of paintings and watercolours, was held at Sistas’ Art Gallery, Bangalore. In 1998 the 'Icons of the Raw Earth' dual exhibition was held in New Delhi (bronze sculptures and drawings at the Shridharani Gallery; paintings and watercolours at Art Today).
In 2001 'Imagined Territory', a solo show of Ramachandran's paintings, drawings, and sculptures was held at the Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi. In 2002, his 'Yayati' murals and sculptural installations were exhibited at Art Heritage, 16 years after their first showing. In 2003, after almost a decade of construction, the Rajiv Gandhi Memorial in Sri Perumbudur was completed. Ramachandran designed the bas-relief sculpture, which measures 125 feet by almost 20 feet. Also in 2003 Ramachandran's works were part of the ‘Celebration of Colour’ exhibition organised by Vadehra Art Gallery and the Times of India, presented in Mumbai and New Delhi. In 2003-04 the National Gallery of Modern Art organised a retrospective exhibition of Ramachandran’s works in New Delhi.
In 2003, theNational Gallery of Modern Art (New Delhi) organized a major retrospective of Ramachandran's work. A comprehensive two-volume book ‘A. Ramachandran: A Retrospective’, byR. Siva Kumar, documenting and analyzing his works, was released simultaneously.
In 2014 a retrospective of two thousand Ramachandran drawings, sketches and studies was held at Rabindra Bhavan, New Delhi. Accompanying the event, a two-volume book, 'A. Ramachandran: Life and Art in Lines', edited byR. Siva Kumar, was released.
Ramachandran was the author of an extensive study on Kerala temple murals (‘Painted Abode of Gods: Mural Traditions of Kerala’ – 2006). In 2012 Ramachandran wrote 'Ram Kinkar: The Man and the Artist' (onRamkinkar Baij), published by the National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi. He has also written many articles in English which have been translated into other languages, including Japanese and his mother tongue,Malayalam. In 2010 a collection of his articles, 'Aannottam' (Male Gaze), translated by P. Sudhakaran, was published by Kairali Books, Kerala. Ramachandran has written books inMalayalam, and for six months in 2002 did a weekly column on art and art education for theMalayala Manorama.
Ramachandran wrote and illustrated numerous picture books for children published in India, Japan, Britain and the United States. He received theNoma Concours Award in 1978 and 1980. Some of the original illustrations from these books are on permanent display at the Museum of Children's Books in Miyazaki, Japan. In 1981 he illustrated writings ofAnwar Sajjad and otherUrdu writers.
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