Appajaiah K S

Appajaiah K.S, born in 1954, is an artist, teacher and arts administrator at the College of Fine Arts, Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath. The traditional Mysore paintings have inspired and enriched Appajaiah’s sensibilities from his early days. The language of the iconic paintings that encapsulate lyrical linearity have been sacred and profane subjects.

Being a modern artist, he has been carrying the pressures of tradition to speak about the self in diverse ways. His show, ‘Reminiscing Evolution’, is a culmination of many explorations, from the memories of his own childhood to growing up in an agricultural family that was coming to terms with the new realities of change and conflict, Appajaiah has managed to incorporate all of this by working with traditional materials like gesso, gold leaf and vibuthi blocks (sacred ash) in the form of painting and installations. Additionally, there is a conscious effort to speak about himself through photographic images, taken and borrowed from his own family albums. These images are autobiographical in nature and confront us to unravel many personal narratives of anxiety, tensions between the private and public, and the juxtaposition of tradition and modernity.

Appajaiah’s work also looks into the exploration of material, seen as an interesting indulgence, that uses the vibuthi blocks as a metaphor to represent building blocks, further inscribing images of the self and his lived reality on these supposed building blocks. It constructs another reality of fragile memories for us.

His exhibits with us are an Acrylic and rubber print on canvas titled Feudalism made in 2012 and an acrylic, gold leaf oil on canvas titled The Collector made in 2012.