Kanayi Kunhiraman

Kanayi Kunhiraman (born 25 July 1937) is an Indian sculptor, best known for his outsize sculptures such as Yakshi of Malampuzha Dam Gardens, Sagarakanyaka at Shankumugham Beach and Mukkola Perumal trinity in Kochi. Taught by K. C. S. Paniker, he is a former chairman of the Lalit 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 the Thikkurissy Award and the inaugural MS Nanjunda Rao National Award of the Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath. In 2022, he was honoured with Kerala Sree Award, third highest civilian award given by the Government of Kerala.

Biography

Kunhiraman was born on 25 July 1937 at Kuttamath in Hosdurg Taluk of Kanhangad in Kasaragod District of the south Indian state of Kerala. After early schooling at the local schools in Kuttamath and Puthaott, he joined Raja's high school, Nileshwaram to pass the Secondary School Leaving Certificate examination in 1957. 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 to Chennai where he studied sculpture at the Government College of Fine Arts, Chennai. It was during his days here, Kunhiraman had the opportunity to come in contact with K. C. S. Paniker who was a faculty and later, the principal of the institution.

Legacy

On his return to Kerala from Chennai, Kunhiraman was commissioned by the irrigation department of Kerala, on recommendation from K. C. S. Paniker, for an art work to be installed at the Malampuzha dam garden and he created Yakshi, a statue of a naked woman, sitting on the lawns; the sensuality of the sculpture drew protests from traditionalists. He also created a sculpture, Fertility at Ambalamedu premises of the Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore. In 1990, he completed the Jalakanyaka (Mermaid), a sculpture at Shankumugham Beach, in Thiruvananthapuram; The beach also has another of his sculptures titled, Snake. and the bust of K. C. Mammen Mappillai are two conventional sculptures created by Kunhiraman. Conch, Seats, Nandi and Embrace at Veli Tourist Village, are some of his other works. Melathara and Kalithara, dedicated to public with the accompaniment from a violin concert by L. Athira Krishna in Kollam in 2008. and the Aksharashilpam, at the premises of the public library in Kottayam feature among his more recent works. He has also published on poetry anthology, titled, Kānāyi Kuñhirāmant̲e Kavitakaḷ.

Awards and honours Kunhiraman, who has designed many of the statuettes for various awards in Kerala, was selected by Kerala Lalithakala Akademi for their annual award, Raja Ravi Varma Award, in 2005, making him the first sculptor to receive the honour. He received the Thikkurissy Award in 2006 and Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath awarded him the inaugural MS Nanjunda Rao National Award for Art in 2018. Lalit Kala Akademi, the national academy of India for fine arts, published a book on Kunhiraman's works in 2008. In 2011, he received the T. K. Ramakrishnan Award instituted by Abu Dhabi Sakthi Theatres for his overall contribution. He was conferred the Kerala Sree award instituted by Government of Kerala in 2022.

Selected works 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

Books on Kanayai Kunhiraman

Gallery