K S Kulkarni modern master of Indian art

Ved Prakash Bhardwaj Krishna Shamrao Kulkarni (7 April 1916 – 7 October 1994), commonly known as KS Kulkarni, was a modern Indian painter and teacher. He developed his pictorial language by combining Indian painting tradition and modern European style. His work was part of the painting event in the art competition at the 1948 Summer Olympics. He was the founder-president of Delhi Shilpi Chakra and one of the founders of Triveni Kala Sangam. His ideas, technical skills, and teaching have influenced the work of many contemporary painters.

Kulkarni was born in Belgaum, Karnataka. Due to his interest in painting since childhood, he wanted to study art at the Bombay School, but due to the untimely death of his father, he had to postpone his dream for some time. In the early 1930s, at the age of just 14, he worked as a signboard and cinema poster artist. At the same time, he moved to Mumbai where he did his Diploma in Painting from Sir JJ School of Art in 1940 while working. In the year 1942, he completed a two-year post-graduate course in mural painting from the same institute. He received a research scholarship from the Tata Trust from 1941 to 1943 to study Indian painting. Kulkarni was also associated with the Quit India Movement in 1942.

After completing their education, he started working as a designer in a textile mill in Delhi. Despite not having an education in textile design, he did that work successfully. Due to transfers and other pressures, he left this job in 1945. He started feeling that he was not able to bring out the artist inside him while working as a designer. He decided to establish himself as a teacher and joined the Arts department of Delhi Polytechnic. Shortly thereafter, in 1949, he founded the Delhi Shilpi Chakra, a group of young progressive artists in those days. Similarly, he played a major role in the establishment of Triveni Kala Sangam where he was a teacher for many years. In 1962, Kulkarni was elected to the General Council of the Lalit Kala Akademi. He received the National Award in 1955, 1962, and 1965.

Throughout his life, Kulkarni made several foreign trips. In 1949 he became the first Indian artist to participate in the International Art Show organized by the Rockefeller Foundation in the US. Apart from this, he traveled to Mexico, Guatemala, Peru, and Brazil and studied art there. He was also invited as a guest artist by the governments of the USA, USSR, Germany, Poland, Mexico, South Korea, Netherlands, and the UK.

KS Kulkarni's art was multidimensional. He also did sculpture along with painting. He worked in many mediums and styles. Along with the creation of figurative paintings in the cubist style, he also created abstract paintings. His pen and ink drawings have been popular. He worked in oil and acrylic paintings, and sculptures in terracotta, wood as well as ceramics. Kulkarni never tied himself to any particular genre or medium. He wanted freedom as an artist and encouraged his students to do the same.

In his depiction of human figures, the Ajanta frescoes, the Chola bronze sculptures as well as the touch of modernism are found. In his later works, the stylistic influence of Pablo Picasso's Cubism is clearly visible. His later works show the tremendous influence of Picasso. But in that too he merged traditional Indian folk and tribal art forms. In the catalog of Kulkarni's exhibition at Delhi's Dhumimal Art Gallery, J. Swaminathan wrote that he was a brilliant draftsman as well as a master colorist. In 1979, Kulkarni became partially blind and for some time lost the ability to recognize people. He convinced a doctor in Texas to perform delicate eye surgery in exchange for paintings. Even though the surgery was successful, a cataract continued to hinder his vision, making it difficult for him to work. He died on 7 October 1994.