Varanasi

The Shift from Form to Abstraction

Shimla, India, 1924. A large middle-class family of eight brothers and sisters gathers in the capital of Himachal Pradesh. Among them is Ram Kumar Verma. His path toward the canvas begins not in a studio, but through a chance encounter in 1945. While loitering around Connaught Place with friends from St. Stephen's College, he stumbles upon an art exhibition. The sight of the paintings creates an immediate, intense intrigue. He returns several times. By 1948, he abandons a stable position at a bank to pursue art seriously, enrolling at the Sharda Ukil School of Art under Sailoz Mukherjee. Mukherjee introduces him to the discipline of still life painting using live models.

The trajectory shifts toward Europe. After meeting S.H. Raza at an exhibition, a friendship forms that leads to a one-way ticket to Paris. Under the guidance of Andre Lhote and Fernand Léger, his technical foundation hardens. In the atmosphere of post-war Paris, the pacifist peace movement takes hold. He joins the French Communist Party, seeking inspiration in the social realists like Kathe and Fourgenon. This period marks a departure from the representational. He begins to move away from figurativism, choosing instead to explore the language of abstract art.

The Geometry of the City and the Soul

The focus of his work centers on the human condition, often expressed through the lens of urban alienation. In his early years, the city is a place of the individual, isolated and struggling. As his style evolves, the subject matter shifts toward the specific, crumbling architecture of Varanasi. He captures the dilapidated, crammed houses and the ghats, using the city to convey a sense of hopelessness. His technique relies on sweeping strokes of paint, often in oil or acrylic, to map out forms. These strokes do more than define shape; they evoke the exultation of natural spaces and the incipient violence found within human habitation.

His visual language is characterized by:

• The use of intense colors to convey the essence of land, sky, and water.
• A focus on abstract landscapes that remove human presence to find the core of a place.
• A variety of textures used to build form through abstract movement.
• A transition from the anguish of the worker to the quietude of the mountain.

Recognition and Legacy

His presence in the international art market is marked by significant milestones. His work "The Vagabond" fetched $1.1 million at Christie's, setting a world record for the artist. He was a key figure in the Progressive Artists' Group, working alongside M.F. Hussain, Tyeb Mehta, and S.H. Raza. His reach extended far beyond India, with participation in the 1958 Venice Biennale and the Festival of India shows in the USSR and Japan in 1987 and 1988. He was a rare figure in Indian modernism, accomplished in both painting and writing in Hindi, having published eight collections of works, two novels, and a travelogue.

The honors bestowed upon him reflect his standing in Indian society. He received the Padma Shri in 1972 and the Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian honour, in 2010. He lived and worked in Delhi until his death in 2018.