Kanayi Kunhiraman | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Kunhiraman in 2019 | |
| Born | (1937-07-25)25 July 1937 (age 88) Kuttamath,Kasaragod district, Kerala,British India |
| Occupation | Sculptor |
| Years active | 1960–present |
| Notable work |
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| Spouse | Nalini |
| Awards |
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| Website | www |
Kanayi Kunhiraman (born 25 July 1937) is an Indian sculptor, best known for his outsize sculptures such asYakshi ofMalampuzha Dam Gardens,Sagarakanyaka atShankumugham Beach andMukkola Perumal trinity inKochi. Taught byK. C. S. Paniker,[1] he is a former chairman of theLalit Kala Academy, India's national academy of fine arts. The Government of Kerala awarded him the inaugural Raja Ravi Varma Award in 2005. He is also a recipient of theThikkurissy Award and the inaugural MS Nanjunda Rao National Award of theKarnataka Chitrakala Parishath. In 2022, he was honoured withKerala Sree Award, third highest civilian award given by theGovernment of Kerala.[2]
Kunhiraman was born on 25 July 1937 at Kuttamath inHosdurg Taluk ofKanhangad inKasaragod District of the south Indian state ofKerala.[3] After early schooling at the local schools in Kuttamath and Puthaott, he joined Raja's high school,Nileshwaram to pass theSecondary School Leaving Certificate examination in 1957.[4] A teacher at his school, by name Krishnan Kutty, encouraged him to pursue his artistic interests but he did not get encouragement from his family which forced him to flee home toChennai where he studied sculpture at theGovernment College of Fine Arts, Chennai.[5] It was during his days here, Kunhiraman had the opportunity to come in contact withK. C. S. Paniker who was a faculty and later, the principal of the institution.[citation needed] After completing the course, he worked as a part-time teacher atEthiraj College for Women from 1961 but when he received theCommonwealth Scholarship, he moved to England to study at theSlade School of Fine Art[1] in 1965; he spent three years at the school. On his return to Kerala, he undertook a number of assignments and in 1976, he was invited to head the department of sculpture of theCollege of Fine Arts Trivandrum; he would also serve the institution as its principal until 1978 when he was nominated as the chair of theKerala Lalithakala Akademi; he would also chair the academy again in 2001.[3]
Kunhiraman is married to Nalini.[6]
On his return to Kerala from Chennai, Kunhiraman was commissioned by the irrigation department of Kerala, on recommendation from K. C. S. Paniker,[7] for an art work to be installed at theMalampuzha dam garden and he createdYakshi, a 5.5-metre (18 ft) statue of a naked woman, sitting on the lawns; the sensuality of the sculpture drew protests from traditionalists.[5] Two years later, he was invited by theGreater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA) for two sculptures in the premises of their new office inKadavanthra and he createdEnvironmental Pieces andMukkola Perumal, both concrete sculptures.[8] He also created a sculpture,Fertility atAmbalamedu premises of theFertilisers and Chemicals Travancore. In 1990, he completed theJalakanyaka (Mermaid), a 23-metre (75 ft) sculpture atShankumugham Beach, inThiruvananthapuram;[9] The beach also has another of his sculptures titled,Snake.[8]
The bronze bust ofK. P. P. Nambiar, thePadma Bhushan winning technocrat,[10] and the bust ofK. C. Mammen Mappillai are two conventional sculptures created by Kunhiraman.[6]Amma inPayyambalam,Akshara Shilpam inKottayam,[11]Conch,Seats,Nandi andEmbrace atVeli Tourist Village,[12] are some of his other works.[8][13]Melathara andKalithara, dedicated to public with the accompaniment from aviolin concert byL. Athira Krishna inKollam in 2008.[14] and theAksharashilpam, at the premises of the public library inKottayam feature among his more recent works.[15] He has also published on poetry anthology, titled,Kānāyi Kuñhirāmant̲e Kavitakaḷ.[16]
Kunhiraman, who has designed many of the statuettes for various awards in Kerala,[17] was selected byKerala Lalithakala Akademi for their annual award, Raja Ravi Varma Award, in 2005, making him the first sculptor to receive the honour.[18] He received theThikkurissy Award in 2006[19] andKarnataka Chitrakala Parishath awarded him the inaugural MS Nanjunda Rao National Award for Art in 2018.[20]Lalit Kala Akademi, the national academy of India for fine arts, published a book on Kunhiraman's works in 2008.[21][22] In 2011, he received theT. K. Ramakrishnan Award instituted by Abu Dhabi Sakthi Theatres for his overall contribution.[23] He was conferred theKerala Sree award instituted by Government of Kerala in 2022.[24]
| Year | Work | Medium | Venue | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1953 | Mother and Child | Concrete | Payyambalam,Kannur | |
| 1957 | Beggar | Plaster of Paris | Government College of Fine Arts | Chennai |
| 1957 | Jawaan | Bronze | State Bank of India | Chennai |
| 1958 | A figure | Bronze | Victoria and Albert Museum | London |
| 1958 | Mother and Father | Concrete | Government College of Fine Arts | Chennai |
| 1958 | Portrait of the Painter Rani Poovaiah | Concrete | Government College of Fine Arts | Chennai |
| 1964 | Amma (Mother) | Granite | Private Collection | New Delhi |
| 1969 | Yakshi | Concrete | Malampuzha dam garden | Malampuzha |
| 1971 | Fertility | Concrete | FACT | Ambalamedu |
| 1972 | Environmental Pieces | Concrete | GCDA Complex | Kochi |
| 1973 | Mukkola Perumal | Concrete | GCDA Complex | Kochi |
| 1975 | Horse | Junk sculpture | National Gallery of Modern Art | New Delhi |
| 1976 | Relief | Concrete | Mullakkal Temple | Alappuzha |
| 1985 | Kengal Hanumanthaiah | Bronze | Vidhana Soudha | Bengaluru |
| 1986 | Embrace | Concrete | Veli Tourist Village | Thiruvananthapuram |
| 1986 | The Conch | Concrete, | Veli Tourist Village | Thiruvananthapuram |
| 1986 | Aattam | Concrete | Veli Tourist Village | Thiruvananthapuram |
| 1990 | Relaxation | Concrete | Shankumugham Beach | Thiruvananthapuram |
| 1990 | Sagarakanyaka (The Mermaid) | Concrete | Shankumugham Beach | Thiruvananthapuram |
| 1992 | Snake | Concrete | Shankumugham Beach | Thiruvananthapuram |
| 1998 | Nandi | Concrete | Veli Tourist Village | Thiruvananthapuram |
| 2001 | Infinity | Bronze | ||
| 2001 | Labour's Hand | Bronze | ||
| 2001 | Seats | Concrete | Payyambalam Beach | Kannur |
| 2001 | Thai (Mother) | Concrete | Payyambalam Beach | Kannur |
| 2008 | Melathara and Kalithara | Concrete | Sopanam Complex | Kollam |
| 2015 | Aksharashilpam | Concrete | Public Library | Kottayam |
| 2018 | Reclining figure | Concrete | Mahakavi Kumaranasan Memorial | Thonnakkal |
| 2018 | Kumaran Asan | Bronze | Mahakavi Kumaranasan Memorial | Thonnakkal |
| 2018 | Vikram Sarabhai | Bronze | Indian Space Research Organisation | Bengaluru |
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