M HKA Ensembles

Drawing, (x25) variable dimensions.

Collection: Collection M HKA, Antwerp (Inv. no. BK7737_M486_01 — BK7737_M486_25).

This series of 25 graphic works from K P Krishnakumar is one of the works purchased by the M HKA in the context of the 2008 exhibition Santhal Family: Positions Around an Indian Sculpture. Drawing was not the main focus of the artistic practice of K P Krishnakumar. Nonetheless, they do tell us much about his approach to art and here, too, we see the themes that so much characterize his sculptures. Krishnakumar reflects on love, life and death. Krishnakumar’s drawings are marked by great expressive power and diagrammatic execution of line. Across the series we see Krishnakumar trying out various styles, sometimes within a single drawing. He applies himself to traditional subjects such as portraiture and scenes from daily life, but also makes quite distorted, near-abstract representations testifying to a great power of imagination and inner turmoil, as well.