A style of his own
K.K. GOPALAKRISHNAN
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Balan Nambiar, recipient of the Fellowship of the Kerala Lalitakala Akademi, is at home in different media.
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I surrender this award at the feet of my teachers who groomed me right from school.. Balan Nambiar
Balan Nambiar is one of the few Indian artists who does not need an introduction. The Kerala Lalitakala Akademi recently honoured this veteran artist with its prestigious fellowship. Adept at painting, enamel work and sculpture, the versatile artist has made his mark in each medium that he has worked in. His works bear the signature of his roots.
The Bangalore-settled artist hails from Kannapuram in Kannur district. Kolathunadu, the land of Theyyams, folk arts and other rituals, has inspired this artiste. In fact, he is a pioneer in documenting these art forms and his collection of pictures of Theyyam remains unmatched.
Roots
"The roots of most my work, the symbolism, symmetry and proportion that I adopt and above all the inspiration for work - I owe every thing to this heritage and experience," he says.
Starting out with clay and moving on to concrete, Balan Nambiar has worked in scrap metal, bronze, iron, enamel, stone and stainless steel.
"He combines in him an indigenous instinct for classical integrity in form as well as the zeal of a high-technology freak to assert modernity through streamlining the natural and reinterpreting the iconic, divested of ornamentation.
SINUOUS STEEL: Works by Balan Nambiar in stainless steel in his studio.
"The high voltage artistic engagements with space, both interior and exterior distinguishes his creative urge," art critic Sadanand Menon observed.
The turning point in his life was a trip to France and Germany in 1977. In Germany, he received a commission to do a series of six sculptures in Glass-fibre Reinforced Cement. Instead of saving the money thus earned, he travelled all over Europe. "I went to almost all the museums and art galleries in Western Europe and interacted with the works of the masters," reminisces Nambiar.
Balan Nambiar was, perhaps, the first Indian artist to hold one-man exhibitions in metal sculptures, enamel painting and stainless steel.
Distinct style
In his outdoor exhibition consisting of 24 metal sculptures held in Bangalore in 1975, the smallest sculpture was over six feet high and the biggest was 18 feet. The exhibition of jewellery enamel painting in Bangalore in 1987 was unique because of the medium and the range of colours used. Another first to his credit was an exhibition of stainless steel sculptures, aptly titled `Harmony in Heavy Metal,' held in Delhi in February, 2005.
Balan Nambiar is hailed as a research scholar in the ritual art forms of Kerala and Tulunadu (Karnataka).
The first of 14 research papers published by him was on `Virali pattu,' a kind of cloth used in rituals. `Virali pattu,' `Valampiri Shankha' and `Kannati Bimbam' are three auspicious objects in Kerala.
A series of sculptures in stainless steel inspired by Kannati Bimbam and his research paper on the subject are admired by connoisseurs.
Valampiri Shankha, the conch with clockwise spirals (2000), is one of his masterpieces.
"This stainless steel sculpture in a uniform matt finish primarily involves my creativity, knowledge of structural engineering, computers, laser and fabrication technology," explains Nambiar.
What does he think of this honour from Kerala?
"I was surprised, as I had neither exhibited my works in the Akademi nor associated with it. I am happy about the honour from Kerala and I surrender this award at the feet of my teachers who groomed me right from school," says Nambiar.
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