K. C. S. Paniker Biography 
K. C. S. Paniker was a noted artist and painter from Kerala known for metaphysical and abstract painting. He was a pioneer in the field of metaphysical and abstract painting works and was one of the greatest Indian artists of his time. In 1976, he was honoured with Lalitha Kala Academy Fellowship for his overall contributions to the field of Indian art. His interpretation of Indian culture and spirituality in the 1960s, when the whole country was in the deep influence of western techniques, earned him praises globally. He was one among those great Indian artists of 1900s who made his own identity, when Indian artistic world tried to ape the west. He founded Cholamandal Artists' Village. Artist Namboothiri was his disciple.
He was born in Coimbatore in 1911 and his childhood was spent in Kerala and Tamil Nadu where he completed his education. His native village has influenced him a lot in his artistic works later. He started painting landscapes by the age of 12. He is known for suing bright colours for his works and though he has worked on other subjects too, his choice of bright colours still remained intact. He exhibited his works for the first time in Madras Fine Arts Society's annual shows at the age of 17 and then regularly did so.
He left his education in the middle when he got a government job, to financially support his family. He got the job in Indian Telegraph Department after his father’s death. By this time he was serious in his art subjects and enrolled at Government School of Arts and Crafts, Chennai at the age of 25. He started exhibiting his solo works in Chennai and Delhi since early 1940s and has also conducted exhibitions in US. Panicker is considered as a leading figure in Madras Art Movement.
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Updated: June 30, 2014
